Current Affairs 2009 India

A.R.Rahman wins Ghent Award(23rd October 2009) Oscar winner musician A. R. Rahman’s ‘Jai ho’ has again won laurels at prestigious World Soundtrack Academy awards in Ghent (Belgium).This song from SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE won “best original song written for film” category at the ninth World Soundtrack Awards announced at Ghent.
Test fires nuclear-capable Prithvi-II missile(12th October 27, 2009)
India successfully test fired the nuclear-capable surface-to-surface Prithvi-II missile twice from a test range in Orissa, officials said. The missiles were fired from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in Balasore district, some 230 km from state capital Bhubaneswar first at 10.28 a.m. and then again five minutes later at 10.33 a.m.
The tests were described as part of a “user trial”. Two naval ships tracked and monitored both the missiles hitting the targets accurately. All the radars and other sensors along the east coast monitored the missiles’ trajectory parameters. The missiles have a striking range of about 350 km.Prithvi is India’s first indigenously built ballistic missile. It is one of five missiles being developed under India’s Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).Two versions of the missiles have already been deployed with the Army and the Air Force. According to defense officials in the national capital, Prithvi missile has the capability to carry 500-kg of warhead.
India can hold 2010 Games: CWG Officials (10th October 2009)
The Commonwealth Games Federation officials have expressed buoyancy over India’s capability to host the 2010 event, after completing the second day of inspection.
Visiting shooting range in Tughlaqabad, Jamia Milia complex, the Rugby 7s facility in Delhi University and Siri Fort Complex where the badminton event is scheduled to take place, the delegates were convinced that the country could hold ‘great’ Games in 2010. In the press release released by the committee, Australia’s Don Stockins has been quoted as saying “So far it’s good. The block that we visited in the Games Village was good; if all end up like that it will be great. Delhi will be a great host and it is a very pretty city.” Jamaican Olympic Association Vice-President Donald Anderson has also expressed confidence in India’s facility to host the games next year.
US announce $100,000 aid for India’s flood victims (8th October 2009)
Heavy rain and floods have inundated many parts of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra killing over 200 people and leaving millions homeless. The US announced $100,000 aid for the victims of recent floods in parts of southern and western India.’The heart-breaking personal loss, the destruction of homes and property, and the loss of cattle and crops have been devastating,’ US ambassador to India Timothy J. Roemer said while announcing the aid.
Dolphin is national aquatic animal(5th October 2009)
Dolphin is now India’s national aquatic animal. The decision was taken following a suggestion by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at a meeting of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA), chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said the new status for the dolphin would help save the rare freshwater species from disappearing from the country’s aqua map.
Major Floods in Andhra and Karnataka (4th October 2009)
Five days of torrential rain have left at least 205 people dead and 750,000 displaced in southern India, authorities said. Floods submerged villages, severed transport and communication links and raised fears of disease spreading in relief camps. Large parts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka states – which weeks ago were suffering a severe drought – have been inundated. Air force helicopters dropped food and drinking water packages to hundreds of cut-off villages. The flooding worsened after authorities released water from rain-swollen reservoirs to prevent them from bursting their banks.
Air India Strike (29th September 2009)
Air India cancels over 20 flights, pilots agitation continues. With the agitation by Air India Executive pilots entering the fourth day, the airlines cancelled over 20 flights, including 15 from the national capital, and suspended bookings for the next 15 days.
Talks between the management and the striking Executive pilots failed to break the deadlock over the issue of cut in perks. The agitation by the pilots, who are protesting against the cut in the Productivity Linked Incentives (PIL), is likely to intensify as the executive pilots working with the airlines before its merger also joined them.
Chandrayaan-1 Not A Failure, Finds Water on Moon (24th September 2009)
India’s first lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 has found evidence of large quantities of water on the lunar surface, before the project was terminated by ISRO. This discovery is credited to the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration). NASA’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3), an imaging spectrometer, was one of the 11 instruments on board Chandrayaan-I. M3 was aimed at providing the first mineral map of the entire lunar surface. Lunar scientist’s debate for possibility of water repositories came to an end. Chandrayaan-1 was India’s first unmanned lunar probe which was launched by ISRO on 22 October 2008. After suffering from several technical issues including failure of the star sensors and poor thermal shielding, Chandrayaan stopped sending radio signals on 29 August 2009 shortly after which, the ISRO officially declared the mission over. Chandrayaan operated for 312 days as opposed to the intended two years but the mission achieved 95 per cent of its planned objectives.
Six European satellites launched by India (23th September 2009)
India successfully launched a cluster of six European micro-satellites into low-earth orbit after deploying its 960 kg remote sensing satellite Oceansat-2 in the polar sun-synchronous orbit. Of the six micro-satellites, four are from Germany and one each from Switzerland and Turkey, with a combined weight of 20 kg. The first four tiny spacecraft, named Cubsats, are educational satellites from European universities weighing around 1 kg and developed to perform technology demonstration in space. The other two spacecrafts are named Rubin-9.1 and Rubin-9.2 weighing 8 kg each, are primarily used for the automatic identification system for maritime applications.
Earthquake in North Eastern Region of India (21th September 2009)
An earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale felt by people in parts of Assam, other north-eastern states of India, West Bengal and neighboring Bhutan Monday afternoon causing damage to various properties in both the countries. The duration of this earthquake was around 5 seconds. The epicenter was plotted in Munggar in Bhutan. Munggar, is located along the India-Bhutan border, 125 km northwest of Guwahati where the abnormal movement of earthquake was observed.
Problems in BJP party (4th September 2009)
The BJP seems to be in the docks after the Lok Sabha defeat. BJP has expelled Jaswant Singh, Sudheendra Kulkarni, Khanduri from the party. Also BJP has decided to break ties with the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) in Haryana. BJP president Rajnath Singh also asked senior Rajasthan leader Vasundhara Raje to resign as leader of opposition. In the party meet it has been decided that Advani will resign as party opposition leader and will not be primeministerial candidate for the next election. Seems like a lot of “Manthan” or churning within the party.
Andhra CM YSR died in a chopper crash (3rd September 2009)
The Dynamic Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh is no more. Mr. YS Rajasekhara Reddy was on his way to Chittoor from Hyderabad in a Helicopter. After sometime in flight, the chopper went missing in the dense forest area of Nallamalalla hill range. A massive hunt for the missing aircraft was launched. Three Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters from Bangalore were involved in finding about the helicopter and the missing YSR. After a day, the missing chopper was found in a mangled state along with five burnt bodies. About 100 people died of shock after hearing the news of YSR’s death.
Almost all the state ministers, about 22 MPs and several Congress legislators have pitched for Jaganmohan Reddy, son of Late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy to be the next CM of Andhra Pradesh. The Congress meanwhile is waiting for the euphoria to settle before deciding.
Mumbai TV actress arrested for abusing minor (22th August 2009)
A Mumbai actress has been arrested for allegedly abusing her 10-year-old maid. The TV actress, Urvashi Dhaanorkar who reportedly brought the minor girl to Mumbai in the pretext of adoption and education and kept her captive and tortured her. She had received burns and injuries. The girl told reporters that she was roughed up by the actresses. The case came to light when one of the neighbours found the girl in a bad condition and decided to go to the police. The police who rescued the girl from the Raheja Classic Society in Andheri arrested the actress under the Child Abuse Act.
Indian Navy jet crashes, pilot feared dead (21th August 2009)
An Indian Navy fighter jet crashed into the Arabian Sea and the pilot is presumed dead. The jet, a British-made Sea Harrier, plummeted into the sea 15 kilometers off Goa’s coast. The cause of the crash was not immediately known.
Bhindra honored with Rajiv Gandhi Award (20th August 2009)
India’s first Olympics gold medalist Abhinav Bindra, Bollywood actors Shahid Kapoor and Katrina Kaif and other young achievers were felicitated with prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Award.
Businessman buys Gandhi’s home, plans for museum (30th July 2009)
Mahatma Gandhi’s Johannesburg house, has been bought by a Bandra businessman, Pradeep Bhavnani for about Rs 2.25 crore on July 30. Mahatma Gandhi lived in this house from 1908 for three years while he fought against the racial discrimination in South Africa as a lawyer. The house that was designed by artist Hermann Kallenbach is called ‘The Kraal’. Pradeep Bhavnani, who is senior BJP leader L K Advani’s nephew and a self-professed Gandhian is planning to turn it into a museum. After buying the house, he intends to buy 34 souvenirs and photographs from the Aditya Birla Group to install them in the museum. After inaugurating the museum on Oct 2, Gandhi’s birth anniversary, it will be handed over to Government of India on the same day.
Rajmata Gayatri Devi laid to rest(28th July 2009)
Rajmata Gayatri Devi passed away after a prolonged illness at the age of 90. The people of the city gave their daily routines a miss to catch a glimpse of the Queen’s last journey. They grieved the fact that the only person who really cared about their grievances had passed away. The Queen was cremated with State Honours and the event was graced by the presence of the Rajasthan Governor Shailendra Kumar Singh and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, along with several members of the State Cabinet.
Class X girl selected for NASA training (26th July 2009)
Palak Agarwal, is one of the two school girls selected from India for NASA training in space shuttle designing. She is a student of 10th class in a school in remote Karnal dist. She was selected under a student programme under which a few students across the globe get an opportunity to get training in NASA.
PM launches India’s first nuclear submarine (26th July 2009)
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s wife Gursharan Kaur launched the country’s first nuclear powered attack submarine, INS Arihant in Vishakhapatnam. The INS Arihant will be commissioned in the Indian Navy after extensive outfitting and sea trials. It is the first of three such vessels to be built in the country. Its length is 112-metre-long. India has achieved a ‘historic milestone in the country’s defence preparedness’ with the launch of the submarine.
Bill Gates to receive Indira Gandhi Peace Prize (23th July 2009)
Bill Gates has received the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development on behalf of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In 2003, the foundation launched Avahan, a 10-year initiative to support India’s efforts to reduce the spread of HIV.
India’s first sea bridge (30th June 2009)
The Congress president Sonia Gandhi inaugurated the Bandra Worli sea link in Mumbai. The 5.6 kilometers long cable-stayed bridge has been designed to allow for speedy road travel between Bandra and Worli. It costs Rs. 50 to take a trip on the link, and will cost Rs. 75 for a round trip. It would be nothing compared to the Rs 100 crore per year that the link will save in the vehicle operating cost alone. The link is equipped for traffic monitoring, emergency support and an automated toll system. The construction of the sea link would save people’s time.
Union minister threatens HC judge to grant bail (30th June 2009)
R Regupathi, a Madras High Court judge has threatened to write to the central government and the prime minister about a Union Minister seeking to influence him to release a medical student petitioner and his father, a doctor on anticipatory bail. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked both of them in connection with a forged mark sheet case.
Government to make class X examination optional (25th June 2009)
Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Human Resource Development (HRD) has suggested that the government may make class X examination optional for students. He said that the examination system would be reformed in accordance with the National Curriculum framework-2005. This will permit students to continue in the same school. Schools may take an internal assessment test instead. This he says, will be done in 100 days.
Air Force AN-32 aircraft Crash (10th June 2009)
Indian Air Force, Army and paramilitary forces made a search for missing Air Force AN-32 aircraft which crashed over Arunachal Pradesh. The IAF began aerial reconnaissance to trace the transport aircraft while Army and paramilitary forces too have been pressed into the search operation. There were 13 people on board including six IAF officers and seven Army personnel and all of them are feared dead. The aircraft had taken off from Machuka in Arunachal Pradesh on a supply sortie and was on its way to Mohanbari in Assam when it went off radar due to bad weather and crashed. The last radio contact with the missing aircraft was 35 miles from Machuka. Top-level sources in IAF say that the flying crew of the AN-32 was highly experienced and bad weather is suspected to be the reason for the crash.
Family donates their dead son’s organs to 7 people (9th June 2009)
A family in Andhra Pradesh mourning the loss of their 19-year-old member Ganpati in a road accident has ensured his legacy by donating his organs and transforming the lives of seven people. Johnson, a six-year-old boy, was suffering from the dangerous blue baby syndrome but now a critical heart surgery has ensured he would live healthily. It’s not just Johnson but six other people, too, who have received vital organs including the kidneys and liver donated from Ganapati’s body. Ganapati had met with an accident and was brought to hospital brain dead. Doctors counselled with the family. Though it wasn’t an easy decision for Ganapati’s family to donate his organs, Ganapati’s elder brother Pradeep went ahead, believing that his brother will live on by this deed. Ganapati’s family is unaware of the identities of any of the seven people who have benefited from his organs. But they do find solace in the thought that Ganapati continues to live on.
Dream Houses / Mumbai Flats on rent for Rs. 800/- (3rd June 2009)
The common people of Mumbai may now dream of affordable homes. An ambitious low-cost housing programme promises to provide flats on rent for as less as Rs 800. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) announced that they are going to construct 133,000 flats near the city. The MMRDA, in collaboration with real estate giant HDIL, will construct the flats on 525 acres in Virar suburb in Thane district north of Mumbai. The project aims to house around 2 lakh people in the flats. The rent for the flats will range from Rs 800 to Rs 1,500 per month. Each flat measures 160 sq ft and will be given on lease for a period of five years. The Metropolitan Commissioner told that 90,000 (flats) are made for free-sale components and 43,000 are purely rental housing tenements of 160 sq feet each. Only people with a minimum monthly income of Rs 5,000 will be eligible to apply for houses. Applicants should preferably be residing in Maharashtra but it isn’t a compulsory requirement. The MMRDA also announced eight other low-cost housing projects in the city to house 5 lakh families in the next few years. The authority will earn Rs 5,000 crore in rent and builders will benefit as they would be allowed to construct taller buildings with more flats.
Oz Racial attack: AP student battling for life ( 28th May 2009)
Shravan Kumar, a 25-year-old student was attacked by teenagers in Australia is battling for life after he and three of his friends from Andhra Pradesh were attacked on May 26. Doctors are not ‘very optimistic’ about chances of his recovery. Shravan was critically injured after one of the boys attacked him with a screwdriver. The other three identified as A Krian, Subhash and Sandip escaped with minor injuries. The attackers abused the Indian students and asked them to leave Australia. While Shravan is still in hospital, the other three moved out of the house. This is the second attack on Indian students in a week. Meanwhile there are reports that the house where Shravan and his friends were staying is apparently robbed by some miscreants.
Congress’ victory, credit to Sonia’s inner voice ( 18th May 2009)
The amazing victory of the Congress Party and the pathetic defeat of the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls 2009 has come as a surprise. Nobody expected that the Congress will bag over 200 seats on its own and cross 260 with its allies. All political Pundits and Sephologists were predicting highly fractured result on 16 May 2009, the day of counting. But May 16 became a ‘black Saturday’ for the Bharatiya Janata Party with an astonishing victory for the Congress. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi once again made it clear that she is not in race for the PM post of India. Ms Gandhi had made her point clear that Manmohan Singh is the Prime Ministerial candidate of Congress. This cleared a long standing doubt in the minds of many Indians who are not happy to see a foreigner as India’s Prime Minister. This worked and converted into votes.
UPSC results: Women on top, 791 succeeded (5th May 2009)
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exam results for the year 2008 were announced. A higher number of women have topped these numbers. The top three ranks have been grabbed by women for the first time. The Rank 1 holder, 30-year-old Shubhra Saxena from Ghaziabad has become the talk of the country. She told the media that the risk of quitting her job to serve the rural masses was worth it.
River Ganga still reels under Pollution (4th May 2009)
The river Ganga remains highly polluted even after being declared the ‘National River’ by the Central Government. Filled with chemical wastes, sewage and even the remains of human and animal corpses, it poses major health risks to around 400 million people living by its side and all others who benefit from it. The Ganga also suffers from another major problem called silting which results into chocking of its flow.
People believe that constructing dams on the Ganga could be the cause of low water level in the river. The residents say no steps have been taken to improve the condition of the Ganga. The condition of the Ganga is deteriorating by the day. There is more sand in it. Though it is declared a ‘National River’, no efforts are being made to clean it. If water is released from the dam, then only the water level will increase in the river. Efforts have always made to clean up the Ganga since a long time but none have been proved successful.
Satyam bidding Completed: Tech Mahindra wins bidding (13th April 2009)
In the Satyam Computers bidding process, three huge companies namely Tech Mahindra, Engineering L&T, and Wilbur Ross had participated. Tech Mahindra has won in the Satyam bid by paying Rs. 1757 crore and now has 31% stake in Satyam. Tech Mahindra will pay Rs 58 per share; L&T had offered to pay of 49 Rs per share and so lost out.
Girl dies due to asthma in Delhi School (22nd April 2009)
Aakriti Bhatia of class 12 student of the Modern School in Vasant Vihar of Delhi died due to an asthma attack. Her parent’s alleged negligence by the school resulting in her death. It seems while taking Aakriti to hospital the school authorities removed the oxygen provided to her, also instead of calling an ambulance they waited for Akriti’s father’s car to take her to hospital, which could have lead to the death. However the school claims that they did everything possible to save her. Other parents and people are demonstrating against the school.
Parents protest fee hike in schools (April 2009)
Hundreds of parents opposing the fee hike in schools protested at various places in Delhi and demanded its immediate rollback. The parents association of Guru Nanak Public School staged a demonstration and criticized the school authorities over the fee hike. All India Parents Association (AIPA) also extended its support to the demonstration. The children also shouted slogans from the classrooms. The matter of fee hike has been challenged in the Delhi High Court. The court would hear the case on April 29.
Tata Nano The People’s Car Launched(23rd March 2009)
People’s car ‘Nano’ launched amidst much waiting and expectation.
Tata Motor’s ‘Nano’ was commercially launched in Mumbai on 23/3/09 promising to meet the expectations of people under some circumstances which is likely to bring about a change in the auto market in the nation
Modi minister held in post-Godhra riot case (March 2009)
As prime ministerial candidate L K Advani and chief minister Narendra Modi on 27/3/09 launched the BJP’s campaign at the Kankaria lakefront, a few kilometres away, in Gandhinagar, Maya Kodnani, a minister in Modi’s cabinet, was arrested in one of the post-Godhra riot cases of 2002.
Minister of state for women and child welfare and higher education, Kodnani was arrested after the Gujarat high court cancelled her anticipatory bail on Friday in the Naroda Patia and Naroda Gam riots case. A trained gynaecologist, she resigned from the ministry and surrendered before the SC-appointed Special Investigation Team in Gandhinagar with VHP leader Jaideep Patel.
Varun guilty; EC asks BJP not to field Varun (March 2009)
The Election Commission has found the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, Varun Gandhi guilty of making remarks against Muslims in an election rally in Pilibit and in the wake, violating polls laws. The EC has also declared that the CD was not doctored and said that it will initiate criminal proceedings against him.
The EC has also asked BJP not to give a ticket to contest polls in Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh.
“The commission considered the speeches as a grave violation of the model code of conduct, apart from amounting to promoting feelings of enmity and hatred between different classes on the ground of religion, outraging the religious feeling of a particular community, and promoting hatred and ill-will between two classes of citizens and provoking a section of the citizens to indulge in violence.”
“Any sponsorship of his candidature by the BJP, or any other political party at this election, would be perceived as endorsing his unpardonable acts of inciting violence and creating feelings of enmity and hatred between different classes of citizens of India, destroying the social, democratic and plural fabric of the country,” it said.

SATYAM FRAUD

The fraud at Satyam may well turn out to be the biggest of all scams unearthed from corporate India. Through multiple routes involving a large number of related companies and myriad transactions, the promoters of Satyam Computer Services, led by the company’s Chairman Ramalinga Raju, are alleged to have siphoned out a huge quantity of money from the firm. To cover that up, the accounts were manipulated and documents were forged to declare nonexistent cash reserves and understate liabilities.
The money that was taken out may have been used, among other things, to acquire large quantities of land in what seems to be a set of speculative real estate ventures that could enrich the family. The Maytas companies that had titles that spelt Satyam in reverse were important conduits in this process, but there were clearly many more. According to reports, the Registrar of Companies has found that ”Satyam’s annual report reveals several transactions with subsidiaries and other group companies by way of investments, purchase of assets and other receivables” that point to the concealed transfer of funds out of the company.
Shockingly, one of the allegations made by the Crime Investigation Department (CID) of Andhra Pradesh is that the company had only 40,000 employees on its rolls as compared with the 53,000 claimed by it and the remaining 13,000 were mere fake salary accounts through which as much as Rs. 20 crore a month were taken out of the company over a period of five years. If true, this involves descent to a level of manipulation and fraud that could spell the end for Satyam.

MANGALORE PUB ATTACK

Activists of a self-styled pro-Hindu moral brigade called Sri Rama Sene barged into a pub in the coastal city of Mangalore in january and bashed up a few young girls for ‘violating traditional Indian norms’.
At least two girls were punched and their hair pulled by the activists 4 p.m. Saturday at the pub Amnesia – The Lounge in Mangalore, about 350 km from Bangalore. The young men accompanying the girls to the pub on the busy Balmatta Road were also assaulted when they tried to protect their friends.
Following this shocking incident, at least 10 of the activists have been arrested by Mangalore police. From the accounts given by the eyewitnesses, who did not want to be identified, the girls were the target of attack. About 40 men forcibly entered the pub claiming unethical activities were on inside and pushed their way inside. They began assaulting the young men and women who ran for safety. At least two of the girls started screaming for help and managed to flee from the attackers.
The ugly incident has a murky dimension also with leaders of Sri Rama Sene and Bajrang Dal, another pro-Hindu organisation fighting to take credit for the attack in the name of punishing those going against ‘traditional Indian norms’.

RAILWAY BUDGET 2009

Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav Friday presented his sixth rail budget in February.He is the first Railway Minister to introduce the low fare air-conditioned trains known as “Garib Rath”. Fifteen such trains are already running and five more are expected to start in the near future.
The Railways minister cut rail fares across ticket categories by 2% and announced plans for 43 new trains on Friday.
The fare cut will bring down rail fares on air-conditioned travel the most, mounting further pressure on low-cost airlines, while fares for second-class, second-class sleeper, and general compartments will also go down for tickets worth more than Rs 50 per passenger. Suburban commuters who use express or mail trains will also see their ticket costs get Rs 1 cheaper.
The fare cuts, announced in the government’s interim railway budget for 2009-10, are expected to set the Indian Railways back by only around Rs 700 crore but will make little difference to its cash pile of Rs 90,000 crore. In any case, Mr Prasad said a cut in fares would not necessarily lead to a loss of revenues. The Railways has cut fares four times in as many years, lowering AC first class and AC two-tier rates by 28% and 20%, respectively and taking the competition straight to the doors of the low-cost airline sector.
The Minister also proposed starting 43 new trains during 2009-10, and said the Railways would extend services of 14 existing trains. The frequency of various Rajdhani and other express trains will also be increased taking into account the rise in the number of passengers.

DEMONSTRATIONS AGAINST VALENTINE’S DAY

Activists of the Hindu fundamentalist political party Shiv Sena on Wednesday staged a token protest at Central Delhis Jantar Mantar against St.Valentines Day celebrations in the capital. The activists said that they viewed celebrations of St.Valentines Day contrary to Indian ethos and a proof of the growing influence of western culture on rest of the world. Besides, the protestors said that the St.Valentines Day was corrupting the Indian youth, as most of the youth on this day take advantage of the occasion and indulge in immoral behaviour at public places.
Such protest were undertaken at quite a few places in India like Bhopal, Bangalore etc. In Uttar Pradesh, Right-wing Hindu activists beat up young couples during Valentine’s Day protests across the country. Shiv Sena said it was holding protests across the country against Valentine’s Day celebrations which were against Indian culture and had a “corrupting influence” on Indian youth.
Protests by Hindu and Muslim groups were reported from the national capital Delhi, central Bhopal and southern Hyderabad cities.Fifty activists of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party’s student wing attacked a shop selling Valentine’s Day gifts in Hyderabad and set fire to the greeting cards. They carried saffron flags and chanted slogans such as “Save Culture” and “Death to Valentine’s Day.” Muslim groups also campaigned against Valentine’s Day and displayed posters at public places asking youth to refrain from celebrating the day.
In central Bhopal city, another Hindu right-wing group the Bajrang Dal held protests threatening to marry off lovers found “misbehaving” in public places. Other Hindu religious organizations held protests in the western Gujarat state distributing handbills to college students asking them to shun western culture.
Valentine’s Day has become popular in India over the past decade with shops selling romantic cards, heart-shaped balloons, cuddly toys and other gifts. But the day has also seen regular protests by Hindu and Muslim hardliners who claim the celebrations threaten Indian culture and social norms.

Current Affairs 2009 World

ASEAN Summit 2009 (25th October 2009)

Leaders of ASEAN countries has decided to increase cooperation in education at the 15th ASEAN Summit held in Hua Hin, Thailand, on October 23-25, 2009.The cooperation agreement signed by the leaders of the ten ASEAN member countries at the summit’s closing ceremony on Sunday. The ASEAN community in 2015 will be based on three pillars, security of the political community, economic community, and socio-cultural community. Therefore, ASEAN leaders had been urged to step up educational competency in their respective countries. All these efforts may serve as a common reference for ASEAN to a better quality education.The member country had also expressed readiness to establish a research convention on education.The result will serve as a basic framework for new cooperation in the sector. The summit also announced a plan to observe ASEAN`s founding anniversary every August 8, and introduce the history of the regional organization as well as its latest developments to the students.

Global population to reach seven billion by 2011 (23rd October 2009)

The global population is expected to reach seven billion in 2011 and the increase would happen in just 12 years after reaching six billion in 1999, says the World Population Data Sheet prepared by the Population Reference Bureau (PRB).In a statement issued by the Information Services Department,growth of the world’s youth population was shifting to the poorest countries’ especially Asia and Africa, and latter’s population of one billion was growing by about 24 million per year, and would double by 2050.The bulk of today’s 1.2 billion youth are in developing countries with 8 out of 10 living in Africa and Asia.

Obama Wins Nobel peace prize 2009 (9th October 2009) The chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize committee cited President Obama’s outreach to the Muslim world and his push for Israeli-Arab peace in explaining its decision to award him the prize.“One of the first things he did was to go to Cairo to try to reach out to the Muslim world, then to restart the Mideast negotiations and then he reached out to the rest of the world through international institutions,” Thorbjorn Jagland said in Oslo last Friday after announcing that Obama had won the prize. The formal citation notes Obama’s “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples” and his “vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.” Obama will receive the $1.4 million prize in Oslo on Dec. 10.

Kabul’s Indian Embassy attacked (8th October 2009)

A vehicle packed with explosives drove into the sidewall of the Indian Embassy in Kabul. A huge blast followed. Seven Afghan civilians were killed and 45 more were wounded in a blast outside the Indian embassy in the Afghan capital on Thursday, police sources said. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the suicide attack. On its website, it said it intended to target the Embassy. There was some speculation whether the real targets were other government buildings nearby.

Al-Qaida calls for holy war against China (7th October 2009)

In a video message, a senior Al-Qaida leader has urged Muslims to launch a holy war against Chinese “invaders” in response to the “massacre” of Uighurs in western China. “The atheist criminals have long used the most despicable, cruel and brutal means against Muslims in Turkistan,” said Abu Yayha al-Libi, who is sometimes identified as the commander in Afghanistan of the international terrorist network Al-Qaida.

China celebrates its 60th anniversary (1st October 2009)

A confident China on Thursday marked 60 years of Communist rule as it unveiled its military might parading new generation battle tanks and long-range cruise missiles, with President Hu Jintao asserting that only socialism can save the country.

Afghan Presidential election (18th September 2009)

President Hamid Karzai won an absolute majority in Afghanistan’s presidential election, according to a final preliminary result released by the election commission. Incumbent Karzai won 54.6% of the vote in the Aug 20 poll, nearly double the 27.8% of his nearest rival, former foreign minister Abdullah, the commission said. Voter turnout was 38%, which accounts for more than 5.5 million votes cast on the election day. Of that percentage, 42% were men and 38% were women, Daoud Ali Najafi, chief electoral officer said.

US largest supplier of arms in 2008 (7th September 2009)

Defying the trends of global recession, the United States has emerged as the largest supplier of arms, accounting for more than two-third of the USD 55.2 billion of arms sales in the year 2008. The United States has not only supplied arms and weapons to its traditional market, but also begun creating a pie for itself in the traditional Russian supplier markets like that of India, says a latest Congressional report. The increase in American weapons sales around the world was attributable not only to major new orders from clients in the Near East and in Asia, but also to the continuation of significant equipment and support services contracts with a broad-based number of US clients globally.

Powerful earthquake kills 57 in Indonesia (3rd September)

At least 57 killed, another 400 injured, says disaster agencyTsunami watch quickly expires, Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says Older buildings damaged in Tasikmalaya in Indonesian island of Java, witness says Series of quakes hit Indonesia’s Sumatra Island three weeks ago. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visited Cianjur, and vowed to free up nearly $500,000 (5 billion rupiahs) for emergency response efforts.

Angry student throws acid on professor in Vietnam (25th August 2009)

A college professor and 13 students were hurt, when a former student upset over an English test splashed him with acid in Vietnam. Dang Huu Dung, a professor at the Agriculture and Forestry University, received acid burns to a third of his body. The police arrested Tran Xuan Thanh, 28-year-old who finished his four-year course in 2006 but did not graduate because he failed the English test on mechanics. The former student wants to apply for another English test but the professor refused. The student got angry and thrown acid on professor thinking Mr Dung was not fulfilling his responsibilities towards his students.

Miss Venezuala win Miss Universe 2009 title (24th August 2009)

Impressing 12 judges and beating 84 contestants Miss Venezuela Stefania Fernandez crowned the Miss Universe 2009 from Dayana Mendoza. 18-year-old Stefania is the sixth Venezuelan to win the crown.

Michael Jackson is Dead (25th June 2009)

Michael Jackson, the King of pop died because of cardiac arrest at the age of 50 at Los Angeles. The only man who neither needs any introduction nor any eulogy died leaving millions of fans grieving. Keeping aside the controversies he stirred in the last few years, Michael Jackson was definitely an extraordinary artist, musician and a performer. Jackson left behind some heart touching songs like ‘Earth Song’.

Racial attack in Australia (15th June 2009)

So far there have been 14 attacks encountered by Indian students in Australia. Indian students are continuing their street protest against the racially motivated attacks. The Indian community leaders in Australia have asked the Indian students to stop violent protests in Harris Park in Melbourne. There have also been some stray incidents of Indian students retaliating.

Air France 447 jet Crash (2nd June 2009)

The Air France 447 jet with 228 people on a flight to Paris vanished over the Atlantic Ocean after flying into towering thunderstorms and sending 24 automated messages that the electrical system had failed. Massive operations were taken to locate the, but all 228 passengers seem to have died. The hunt for the black boxes and plane parts still continues. The total bodies recovered were only 50. The bodies found were sent to perform DNA tests to the Legal Medical Institute in Brasilia. The United States of America has also joined in the efforts.

LTTE chief Prabhakaran’s body found (18th May 2009)

The Tigers of Tamil Eelam “Velupillai Prabhakaran” has been shot dead and his body has also been found by the Lankan army. His son “Charles Antony” has also been shot dead. Prabhakaran’s top aides came out of their last hiding place in a small convoy of van and an ambulance and tried to drive out of the war zone, but were gunned down. The Tiger chief was killed with two others, who are believed to be his closest associates – LTTE intelligence chief Pottu Amman and Sea Tigers’ chief Soosoi. The deaths of the top LTTE leaders came a day after Tamil Tigers conceded defeat saying the decades-old battle has reached its “bitter end” and they have decided to “silence” their guns.

Escaped Bali Terror Suspect Is Caught in Malaysia (8th May 2009)

A suspected terrorist leader who embarrassed Singapore last year by disappearing through a bathroom window in a high-security prison has been caught in Malaysia. Mas Selamat bin Kastari, 47, was arrested early last month, after Singapore Police failed to capture him. The Singapore government has described Mr. Mas Selamat as the local leader of the regional Islamist terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah, which carried out the 2002 bombings in Bali, Indonesia. He was captured in southern Malaysia, just across the Johor Strait from Singapore. An official investigation found that by letting the water run in the bathroom and hanging a pair of pants over a ledge above the door, Mr. Mas Selamat gave himself 11 minutes to make his getaway, even as a guard waited just outside the door. The prisoner squeezed through the window, shinnied down a drainpipe onto a cushion of rolls of toilet paper, climbed a fence and disappeared. He had asked for privacy in a bathroom as he changed.

Obama gets a ‘B+ grade’ for his presidency (29th April 2009)

Barack Obama celebrated his successful completion of 100 days (called as ‘hallmark holiday’) as US president. Obama’s first 100 days was fighting against global terror, an economic crisis worse than the great depression of the 1930s and a pandemic, swine flu. He has made milestone changes in foreign relations with Cuba and Iraq along with policy shifts towards China and Mexico. To improve economic status, he has provided for 787-billion-dollar stimulus bill, along with environmental and health care reforms on the launch. Robert Gibbs gave Obama a grade of “B plus,” observing that ‘there’s always room for improvement’. A survey on Obama’s leadership showed positive reactions of the people and 63% approving his presidency.

Over 150 people died due to Swine flu in Mexico (29th April 2009)

The death toll has risen to 159 people in Mexico due to Swine flu disease. Out of a total of around 2,500 suspected cases of the virus, more than 1,300 people are reported to be in hospitals, some of them ‘seriously’ ill. Most of the deaths occurred in Mexico City. Other affected states, such as Aguascalientes and Veracruz have only seen a handful of deaths. The victims include all age groups ranging from children, adults, and middle-aged people

6 killed in murder-suicide bid in US (31st March 2009)

In a shocking incident 6 people, including 3 children, were shot dead and one critically injured reportedly in a murder-suicide bid in Santa Clara, a city in the Silicon Valley. Media reports suggest that an ‘Indian passport’ was found inside the house where the incident occurred.

The body of suspected shooter was found inside the house. Police also recovered two handguns used in the killings. The killer was a man in his 40s. Mike Sellers, the Santa Clara Police Captain said, “It does appear as though they (the victims) were related.”

Titanic museum to open in UK (31st March 2009)

A new museum charting the story of the Titanic could be built in Britain ahead of the 100th anniversary of the ill-fated liner’s sinking.

The 28 million pound museum in Southampton, from where the liner set sail in 1912 on her maiden voyage, is set to feature a climb-aboard replica of the doomed ship, which hit an iceberg causing the loss of 1523 lives.

BUSH GETS ATTACKED BY SHOES IN IRAQ

An Iraqi TV reporter threw his shoes at President Bush during a news conference. Muntadhar al-Zaidi, a reporter for the TV channel Al-Baghdadia, faced testing for alcohol and drugs to determine his state of mind, said a government official.

At Sunday’s news conference, the journalist whipped off his shoes and hurled them at Bush during the president’s unannounced stop in Baghdad. The reporter called his shoe-throwing, a traditional insult in Arab culture, a “farewell kiss” to a “dog” who launched the 2003 invasion of Iraq

“This is the farewell kiss, you dog,” the man shouted in Arabic. After the incident Bush apparently said that he was ok and dismissed the incident as an example of a healthy democracy and an example of free speech.

LTTE LOSES MULLAITHIVU

The Sri Lankan military on Sunday announced the capture of Mullaithivu town, the last major settlement of the LTTE in the only remaining district under its control. With this the Tigers are now confined to Puthukkudiyiruppu and Vishwamadu areas in the same district.

The fall of Mullaithivu came three weeks after the military marched into Kilinochchi — the administrative and political headquarters of the Tigers. After Kilinochchi, the Tigers lost control of their strategic base at Elephant Pass at the mouth of the Jaffna peninsula and the government gained total control of the A 9 highway for the first time since the departure of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in 1990.

The rapid advance of the military into Mullaithivu town caught the political and diplomatic circles by surprise. The manoeuvre was expected to take time in view of the large number of civilians in the war zone, besides thick jungles and lagoons en route, not to mention the added threat of a possible attack by the Tigers to defend their last citadel.

Mullaithivu town is situated in a narrow stretch of land between Nanthikandal lagoon and the Indian Ocean. It has been under the control of the Tigers since 1996 and was considered their main military base.

ISRAEL ATTACKS GAZA

Israeli warplanes killed 10 Palestinians on Tuesday in attacks that targeted Hamas government buildings and other symbols of the Islamist group on the fourth day of the fiercest air offensive in Gaza in decades. Israeli missiles flattened five ministerial buildings and a structure belonging to the Islamic University in Gaza City, witnesses said.

The death toll from the attacks on Gaza continues to rise, reaching 345 dead with more than 1,400 injured. Hamas has retaliated against Israel is with a deadly barrage of rockets that reached deep into Israel. With this evidence that airstrikes alone have not been able to stop all Hamas rocket launches, Israel is hinting that it will broaden its assault with a ground invasion:

Israel hinted it was ready to broaden its assault on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip with a ground operation after three days of air raids failed to bring an end to cross-border rocket attacks.

Monthwise Updated Current Affairs 2009

CURRENT AFFAIRS 2009

JANUARY-2009

1. The new federal agency approved by the Indian Government to combat terror in India which will be empowered to deal with terror related crimes across states without special permission from the state ?
National Investigation Agency.
2. Who is appointed as Director General of the newly established National Investigation Agency (NIA).?
Radha Vinod Raju, Special Director General of Police in Jammu and Kashmir
3. “Man of the series” of recently held One Day series between Australia & South Africa?
Albie Morkel
4. Who became the country’s youngest international referee, after passing the world body FIBA’s exam ?
Zanim Mohammed Hashim from Thalassery, Kerala
5. The first Indian to win the prestigious Golden Globe Award for Best Original Music Score ?
A.R.Rahman for Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire.
Rahman’s song ‘Jai Ho,’ penned by lyricist Gulzar, was nominated for Best Original Music Score.
6. Which Malayalam Writer won the “Odakkuzhal Award ” ?
K.G.Sankara Pillai
7. Who became the fastest bowler to take 50 wickets in one-day internationals ?
Ajantha Mendis , completed his 50-wicket haul in his 19th one-day international. He surpassed the record of India’s Ajit Agarkar who took 23 matches to reach the milestone.
8. Who has been appointed as the General Counsel and Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of Management and Budget in the upcoming administration of U.S.President Barack Obama?

Preeta Bansal, Leading Indian-American lawyer
9. Name the Indo-Russian supersonic cruise missile with speeds of Mach 2.5 to 2.8, which is world’s fastest cruise missile and is about three and a half times faster than the U.S.A’s subsonic Harpoon cruise missile?
Brahmos, The acronym ‘BrahMos’ is perceived as the confluence of the two nations represented by two great rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia.
10. Who is the Man of the Series in the recently held Zimbabwe –Bangladesh One Day Series held in Bangladesh?
Shakib Al Hasan
11. The first Bangladesh player to top one of the International Cricket Council’s player rankings?
Shakib Al Hasan He tops the ICC ODI Rankings for all-rounders
12. Jharkhand Chief Minister who resigned from his post following his defeat in the Tamar assembly by-poll?
Shibu Soren
13. Music Sensation A.R.Rahman won how many Oscar nominations for the film “Slumdog Millionaire” ?
Three nominations (Music, Songs (Jai Ho, O Saya))
14. Indian sound engineer from Mumbai, born in Kerala, nominated for the Oscars for Best sound mixing in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’?

Rasool Pookutty
15. Which film won most number of Oscar Nominations in 2008?
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” with 13 Oscar nominations.
16. Name the founder and Chairman of Satyam Computers until January 7, 2009 when he resigned from the Satyam board after admitting to corporate fraud of 7000 crore rupees ?

Ramalinga Raju
17. The son of former Liberian President Charles Taylor Sr., who was sentenced to 97 years in prison for charges including torture and conspiracy, according to a federal court in Florida. ?
Charles McArthur Emmanuel
He also known as Charles “Chuckie” Taylor Jr.
18. Who is BBC African Footballer of the Year 2008

Egyptian footballer Mohamed Aboutrika
19. The new model car launched by Fiat India Automobiles Ltd in India during fist quarter of 2009.

Fiat Linea
20. Who is the Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab?
Sukhbir Singh Badal
21. The 50th anniversary of the Triumph of a country’s Revolution is observed on this year January? Which revolution?
Cuban Revolution
22. The Three Indian cricketing legends, who figured among the 55 former players named in the ICC`s inaugural Hall of Fame list as part of its centenary celebrations ?
Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar and Bishan Singh Bedi
23. The Chief Financial Officer of Satyam Computers, who was remanded to judicial custody charged with criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery of accounts?
Srinivas Vadlamani
24. Who is the new President of Ghana?
John Atta Mills
25. Name of the Bacteria developed by Australian Scientists to prevent Dengue Fever by infecting the dengue mosquito with that bacterium which halves its lifespan?
Wolbachia bacterium
26. Who became the youngest chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir?
Omar Abdulla
27. Who is the deputy chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir?
Tara Chand
28. Which team won the Ranji Trophy for the season 2008-2009?
Mumbai, they beat Utharpradesh to clinch the title.
29. Who is the fifth New Zealand Cricket player to score a century in his debut?
Martin Guptill, he scored 122 runs (not out) against West Indies in his debut match
30. Prem Nazir Award is won by?
Malayalam Actor, Jayaram
31. The fourth Thikkurissi Foundation Award is won by?
Malayalam Actor, Balachandra Menon
32. Dadasaheb Phalke award winner and noted film-maker who died recently at a hospital in Kolkata after a prolonged illness?
Tapan Sinha
33. The Australian Cricketer who retired recently from international cricket?
Mathew Hayden
34. Which player’s performance is counted as the best ever Test Innings of 2008 selected by Cricinfo?
Virender Sehwag, his double century against Sri Lanka
Best Bowling performance : Dale Steyn against Australia in Melbourne , he took 5 wicket s for 67 runs.
35. The first player in the history of cricket to score 10,000 runs and 250wickets in both tests and One Day internationals?
Jacques Kallis

FEBRUARY-2009

36. Name of the world’s cheapest car launched by Tata Motors in Mumbai?
Nano
37. Music wizard A.R.Rahman won Oscars for which categories?

Best Original Score and Best Original Song (Jai Ho) for the film “Slum dog Millionaire”.
38. Which documentary won the Oscar award for best Documentary (Short)?
Smile Pinki, directed by Megan Mylan depicts the tale of an Utharpradesh girl and her fight against the social stigma of a cleft lip.
39. The West Indian Umpire who has officiated in a record 126 tests and 179 ODIs who decided to retire recently from International matches?
Steve Bucknor
40. The Indian sound engineer who won Oscar for his brilliant sound mixing works of the film “Slum dog Millionaire”

Resul Pookutty
41. The new Chief Justice of Madras High Court ?
Hemant Laxman Gokhale
42. The telecom sector which started third Generation (3G) mobile services recently in 11 cities of India?
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL)
43. Sri Lankan batsmen who smashed double hundreds during world record stand of 437 for the fourth wicket partnership against Pakistan?
Mahela Jayawardhane (240) and Thilan Samaraweera(231)
44. Who won the Miss India Worldwide 2009 title ?
Nikkitasha Marhawa, Indian-American from Chicago clinch the 18th Miss India World wide 2009 title.
45. The new money back plan launched by Life Insurance Corporation (LIC)in February 16 ?
Jeevan Varsha
46. Who was named Jamaica’s Sportsman of the year for 2008 ?
Triple Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt.
47. The teenager who acted as the main character of “slum dog millionaire ” ?

Dev Patel
48. Which novel has been chosen as the Romantic Novel of the year 2009?
“East of the Sun” set in 1920s by Welsh author Julia Gregson
49. Britan’s Royal Mail issued a set of stamps on February-12 to mark the 200th Anniversary of the birth of a famous Scientist? Who is he ?
Charles Darwin
50. Who is appointed as coach/manager of Chelsea, the premier league club ?
Guus Hiddink, Russian coach
51. Recently the IPL Drug Tribunal has imposed a 12-month ban on a Pakistani Cricket player for consuming a banned substance, Nandralone during the inaugural season of Indian Premiere League. Who is he?
Muhammed Asif
52. The new Prime Minister of Zimbzbwe ?
Morgan Tsvangirai
53. Newly elected President of Bangladesh ?

Zillur Rahman
54. Noted Hindustani Classical Vocalist who was presented with Bharath Ratna, country’s highest civilian award ?

Bhim Sen Joshi
55. “”Slumdog Millionire “ got how many BAFTA awards (British Academy of film and Television Arts)
7 awards including Best Director, Best Film…etc
A.R.Rahman won the BAFTA award for the music of this film.
56. Name of India’s Second humanoid robot which was formally unveiled during Quark-2009, the technical festival at Goa?
Acyut-2
57. Name the Indian who awarded a honorary Doctorate of Letters by the University of Cambridge, where he served as the Master of Trinity College for six years.
Amartya Sen
58. Who was named African Footballer of the Year 2008?
Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor
59. Name the Union Minister for Small Scale Industries in the UPA government who was on charged in a murder case recently ?
Mahavir Prasad
60. The two ships, commissioned by the Indian Navy on 16 February 2009, at Chennai, which are the first two in a series of ten water jet Fast Attack Craft (FAC) being built at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, GRSE, Kolkata ?.
INS Carnicobar and INS Chetlat
61. Name the 13-YEAR-OLD boy who has become a father in Britain, his wife is just 15.
Alfie Patten. His girlfriend Chantelle Steadman gave birth to Maisie Roxanne in Eastbourne Hospital, East Sussex
62. 17th Dulip Trophy Cricket title is won by?West Zone
63. Which Indian player won BCCI Payer of the year Award?
Virender Sehwag (The award is also known as Polly Umrigar Award)
64. The Indian Musician among the four international musicians to be awarded Grammy for their ‘Global Drum’ project. ?
Zakir Hussain, along with musicians Mickey Hart, Sikiru Adepoju and Giovanni Hidalgo, has been awarded the coveted gramophone for ‘The Global Drum’ in the Best Contemporary World Music Album category.
65. Which players were named joint winners of the Allan Border medal of 2008?
Ricky Ponting and Michael Clark
66. Who won the Australian Open junior title ?
Yuki Bhambri. He becomes the first Indian to win the Australian Open junior title. He outplayed his German opponent Alexandros-Ferdinandos Georgoudas to win the Junior Boys title in the Australian Open.
67. Who won the Australian Open women singles title of this year ?Serena Williams
68. Who won the Man of the Match award in the two 20-20 Cricket matches between India and New Zealand?
Brendon McCullum
69. Who won Rotterdam Open title after beating world number one Rafael Nadal?Andy Murray of Britain
70. World Cup Cricket 2011 final will be held in which venue ?Wankade Stadium, Mumbai.
71. Japan’s Finance Minister who has resigned, amid claims that he was drunk at a recent G7 meeting?

Shoichi Nakagawa
72. ST OSCAR AWARDS- ALL RESULTS
1. ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Penelope Cruz (VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA)
2. WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREEN PLAY)
Dustin Lance Black (MILK)
3. WRITING (ADAPTED SCREEN PLAY)
Simon Beaufoy (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE)
4. ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Andrew Stanton (WALL-E)
5. SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
Kunio Kato( LA MAISON EN PETITS CUBES)
6. ART DIRECTION
Donald Graham Burt (Art Direction); Victor J. Zolfo (Set Decoration) (THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON)
7. COSTUME DESIGN
Michael O’Connor (THE DUCHESS)
8. MAKE UP
Greg Cannom (THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON)
9. CINEMATOGRAPHY
Anthony Dod Mantle (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE)
10. SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
Jochen Alexander Freydank (SPIELZEUGLAND (TOYLAND)
11. ACTOR IN SUPPORTING ROLE
Heath Ledger (THE DARK KNIGHT)
12. DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
James Marsh and Simon Chinn (MAN ON WIRE)
13. DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Megan Mylan (SMILE PINKI)
14. VISUAL EFFECTS:
Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron (THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON)
15. SOUND EDITING
Richard King (THE DARK KNIGHT)
16. SOUND MIXING
Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE)
17. FILM EDITING
Chris Dickens ((SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE)
18. BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
DEPARTURES – Japan
19. BEST FEATURE FILM.
SLUM DOG MILLIONAIRE
20. BEST DIRECTOR
Danny Boyle (SLUM DOG MILLIONAIRE)
21. BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Sean Penn (MILK)
22. BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Kate Winslet (THE READER)
23. JEAN HERSHOLT HUMANITARIAN AWARD (SPECIAL HONOR)
Jerry Lewis (Comedic film and humanitarian work)
24. BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Smile Pinki –( Director-Megan Mylan )
25. BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Jai Ho” from Slumdog Millionaire – A. R. Rahman (music), Gulzar (lyrics)
26. BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
A. R. Rahman (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE )

MARCH-2009

73. Women’s Cricket World Cup -2009 won by?
England. They beat New Zealand in the Final by 4 wickets Nicki Shaw was named player of the match and Claire Taylor is the player of the tournament.
The first tournament was held in England in 1973 which also won by England. India never won the World Cup
74. Women’s Cricket World Cup -2009 is held in ?
Australia.
Next world cup is in 2013 which will be held in India.
75. Who won the Man of the Match award in the first Test between India and New Zealand at Hamilton, New Zealand?
Sachin Tendulkar
76. Name the Hungarian Prime Minister resigned after facing mounting criticism over his government’s handling of the country’s economic crash.

Ferenc Gyurcsany
77. Who is reinstated as chief justice of Pakistani Supreme Court after a series of protests and political turmoil
Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry
78. First elected female state premier in its history of Australia after a vote in Queensland. ?
Anna Bligh
79. Name the Sudanese opposition leader who has been released from prison, having been detained for two months for calling on Omar al-Bashir, Sudan’s president, to hand himself over to the International Criminal Court (ICC).?

Hassan al-Turabi
80. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Chief who recently visited India to discuss the security situation in South Asia.?Leon Penetta
81. Former Indian captain who equalled Mark Waugh’s world record of 181 Test catches in opening day of the first Test against New Zealand at Seddon Park in Hamilton?Rahul Dravid
82. Which country will host the second version of IPL, i.e. IPL-2009?
South Africa
83. Who has been selected for the 18th Aravindan Award instituted by the Chalachithra Film Society?
Marathi film-maker Paresh Mokashi
84. British reality TV star died at the age of 27 with cervical cancer, who became famous after appearing on the UK’s Big Brother reality Show?
Jade Gudi
85. Who won World Boxing Association (WBA) International and World Boxing Organisation (WBO) Inter-Continental lightweight titles in this year?

British boxer Amir Khan
86. Who became Madagascar’s acting president after the army ended a months-long power struggle and swept him to power?

Andry Rajoelina, he is only 34-year-old.
87. Who is appointed as the new chief of the Indian Air Force?
Air Marshal PV Naik
88. Name the computer institute of Kerala which has made an entry into the Limca Book of Records for the largest number of students in a single centre?
Sree Sankaracharya Computer Centre (SSCT), in Kannur district
89. Who has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the United States of America?
Meera Shankar
90. Name the Indian-American who last week was appointed Federal Chief Technology Officer by President Barack Obama

Vivek Kundra,
He was reinstated to his job by Barack Obama at the White House, five days after he went on leave following Federal Bureau of Investigation’s raids at his previous office, in a corruption case related to employees working there. He returned to the job after it became clear that he was not the ‘target of investigations.
91. Name the Indian-American who is appointed as Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs Washington by U.S.President Barack Obama?

Richard Verma
92. Name the Monster like father who held his Daughter as Sex-Slave Prisoner in Cellar for 24 years and gave birth to 7 children?

Joseph Fritzl
93. Country which has been suspended by The African Union from the continental body, saying the replacement of the island nation’s president by an army-backed politician constitutes a coup.
Madagascar
94. Who was unanimously re-elected to North Korea’s rubber-stamp parliament recently?
Kim Jong Il
95. The Russian Mobile Company which launched its CDMA-based mobile services in Kerala circle after Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan?
MTS, (Mobile Tele Systems)
MTS brand is under Sistema Shyam TeleServices Limited which is a joint venture company between Sistema (LSE: SSA) of Russia and Shyam Group of India
96. Which Tennis Player has won WTA Player of the Year award-2009?
Serena Williams. This is her Second WTA Player of the Year award. She won the same in 2002.
97. The first person to be certified as a survivor of both US atomic bombings at the end of the Second World War?

Photograph Jemal Countess/ WireImage
Tsutomu Yamaguchi, a 93-year-old Japanese man who was in Hiroshima on a business trip on 6 August 1945 when a US B-29 dropped an atomic bomb on the city.
98. Which Indian will replace football star David Beckham, who has been endorsing Motorola as its global brand ambassador?

A.R.Rahman.
It is learnt that Rahman has been paid a whopping Rs.28 Crore for this particular endorsement deal. This makes him the highest paid Indian celebrity for any such product.
99. Who won the 20-20 Cricket series between South Africa and Australia in
South Africa ?
South Africa
(They beat Australia by 2-0).
100. Who is appointed as the Second Deputy Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia?
Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz
101. Who are the winners of Indian Open Badminton Title in 2009 ?
Men’s Single Title- Taufik Hidayat (Indonesia)
Women’s Single Title- Pi Hongyan ( France)
102. First national female judge of Dubai?Judge Ibtisam Rashid Badwawi
103. New Prime Minister of Israel ?
Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel’s Likud party
104. Who is appointed as Administrator of the United Nationals Development Programme(UNDP)?

Helen Clark
105. Who is named to the “Order of Companions of O R Tambo in Gold”, one of the highest state honours of South Africa?

Cuban President Fidel Castro

106. Who is the new Prime Minister of Malaysia ?Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak
107. The US billionaire who roared into space aboard a Russian rocket, making history as the first tourist to make the epic journey twice?

Charles Simonyi
108. The country which re-enters NATO’s (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) military command after more than 40 years?
France

109. Who has been appointed as the new Captain of Sri Lankan Cricket Team?
Kumar Sangakkara
110. Who wins Commonwealth Writers’ Prize Best Book Award for Europe and South Asia region ?
Jhumpa Lahiri for her book ‘Unaccustomed Earth’
111. Who purchased Mahatma Gandhi’s personal belongings which include Gandhiji’s iconic round-rimmed spectacles, a pocket watch, a pair of sandals, a plate and bowl and letters of authenticity for USD 1.8 million at an auction in New York from the owner, James Otis?
Vijay Mallya.
112. Palestinian Prime Minister who submitted his resignation in a move that could help usher in a power-sharing deal between Western-backed President Mahmoud Abbas and his rivals in the militant group Hamas?
Salam Fayyad
113. Home Secretary of India?
Gopala Krishna Pillai. He would assume charge after Madhukar Gupta, the present Home Secretary, retires on March 31. At present G.K. Pillai is the Commerce Secretary.
114. The president of Guinea-Bissau, who was assassinated by the military in a retaliatory attack for the killing of the army chief of the volatile and drug-corrupted west African state?.
Jo Bernardo Vieira
115. Fast bowler who has announced his retirement from international cricket after eight years of service for South Africa?
Andre Nel
116. The son of the poets Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath , 46 years after his mother gassed herself while he slept?Nicholas Hughes

Sylvia Plath with her son Nicholas Hughe. He was only a baby when she committed suicide.

APRIL 2009

117. The 21st Arab League (AL) summit to discuss a package of major issues, including the Palestinian cause, the peace process in the Middle East, improvement of inter-Arab relations and the situation in Sudan was held at ?
Doha, capital of Qatar
118. G-20 Summit which is the world’s 20 largest developed and developing nations meeting was held at?
London
119. Lawyer from the Maharashtra Service Legal Authority, who had been appointed to represent Mumbai terror attack accused Ajmal Amir Kasab and withdrew from the case later in response of several protests.
Anjali Wghmare
120. Maruti Suzuki has decided to stop two selling models, from 11 cities, including the four metros, from 2010 due to tighter emission norms. Which are they?
Maruti-800 and Omni
121. Former cricket player of Pakistan who was appointed as an adviser to the Chinese Cricket Association?Javed Miandad
122. Bollywood actor and politician who has been appointed the General Secretary of Samajwadi Party.
Sanjay Dutt
123. Name the Thai citizen who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for insulting the king of Thailand and his family by posting edited photos of the monarchy on the Internet?
Suwicha Thakho
124. At the time of its final broadcast on September 18, 2009, the teleserial which will have spanned 72 years and more than 15,700 episodes on television and radio?
Guiding Light
125. Mahatma Gandhi is remembered in a very special way in a small village in India by worshipping his idol in a temple? Where is it?
The temple at Bhatra Village in Sambalpur town in Orissa
126. England All rounder who made the first hat-trick of his international career in the recent One Day series against West Indies?
Andrew Flintoff
127. Name the Slovakia’s president who wins second term in office after defeating the first woman to reach a runoff vote?
Ivan Gasparovic
128. Who won the Sony Ericsson Open final by beating Serena Williams which is held in Miami?

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus
129. Who was the ‘man of the series’ in the Test series against New Zealand which India won 1-0 to script a series win in that country after 41 years?
Gautham Gambhir
130. India signed three pacts with a gulf country for strengthening cooperation in science and technology, education and culture as they pledged to contribute to each other’s well being and prosperity. Which is that country?
Kuwait
131. Kiran Sikri, a consumer who was penalised by a bank in India despite cancelling her loan. After her complaint, she was awarded a compensation of Rs.25,000/-by the Consumer Commission which found the bank guilty of deficiency of service in that case. Name that Bank?
ICICI
132. The country in which state of emergency declared recently by its Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, with troops firing shots into the air in an attempt to control anti-government protesters, some of whom stormed the country’s interior ministry?
Thailand
133. Who is appointed as the new President and CEO of Mahindra Life space Developers?
Anita Arjundas
134. Country which regained the Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey title after a 13-year gap, defeating hosts Malaysia 3-1 in the final of the five-nation tournament?
India
135. Which IT Company won the bid for India’s fourth largest software exporter Satyam Computer?
Tech Mahindra, the IT arm of auto major Mahindra and Mahindra.
Tech Mahindra’s winning bid was of Rs.1,757 Crore ($351.4 million) for 31 percent stake in the scam-tainted IT giant “Satyam”
136. Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza lifted her first WTA title of the year, teaming up with a Chinese Player to clinch the women’s doubles trophy at the USD 220,000 MPS Group Championships in Florida. Who is she?
Chia-Jung Chuang
137. Who became the first Indian sports personality to be featured at the Madame Tussaud’s wax museum in London?Sachin Tendulkar
138. Recently a German Luxury carmaker has launched a Limited Edition of its E-Class cars in India? Name the Company?
Mercedes Benz
The Mercedes Benz E-Class Limited Edition is priced at Rs 43.4 Lakh (Ex-Showroom, Delhi).
139. The First Dog who joined US President Barack Obama and his family at the White House on April 14, 2009?
Bo
140. Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) recently launched its much awaited white-labelled credit card in tie up with an Indian Bank? Which Bank?
Corporation Bank
141. Who is selected as the captain of The Wisden Test XI of 2008, which recognises the best Test cricketers and endorses Test cricket as the highest, most skilled form of the game.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the team includes Indians Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan.
142. The journalist who threw a shoe at Home Minister P Chidambaram at a press conference protesting against the minister’s reply on his question on CBI’s clean chit to Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in the 1984 Sikh riots case?
Jarnail Singh, a senior reporter of Dainik Jagran
143. The Indian Company which managed to buy its French partner Group Danone’s 50% stake in ABI Holdings, which controls 51% equity interest in biscuit major Britannia Industries.
The Nusli Wadia group
Nusli N Wadia, is the chairman of Britannia Industries,
144. Who is re-appointed as Fiji’s interim prime minister despite a Court of Appeal’s decision last week declaring his 2006 military coup illegal?
Commodore Frank Bainimarama
145. Leading Afghan rights activist who was killed by Taliban cowards after leaving meeting in Kandahar, Afghanistan?Sitara Achakzai
146. Rifle-shooter who won the gold in the three position event in the Chongwon World Cup in South Korea, becoming the first Indian to win two medals in a single ISSF World Cup?
Gagan Narang
147. Which Zimbabwe captain named as the new coach of England Cricket Team for the recent series against West Indies and the Ashes?

Andy Flower
148. Who is appointed as the new US Ambassador to India?

Tim Roemer
149. Which country’s teams are qualified for the next World Cup Cricket in 2011?
Canada, Kenya, Holland, Ireland
150. Name the American Journalist who was accused with charges amounting to Espionage for the U S, and was sentenced to eight years in Prison by the Judicial Council of IRAN last week?
Rooksana Saberi
151. Which Tennis player who won his 5th straight Monte Carlo Masters Trophy, also known as “Open Barcelona”, more commonly known as the “Godó Trophy”?

Rafel Nadal
152. Name the British Tv Actress who committed suicide after the last episode of her teleserial “Belonging” which was present on BBC Wales?
Stephanie Parker
153. Who has been appointed as the new Supreme Court Registrar of India?
Ashok Menon
154. Who is the 16th Chief election commissioner of India?
Naveen Chawla
155. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev removed the head of the powerful military intelligence agency recently after he opposed sweeping reforms of the country’s lumbering armed forces. Who is he?
General Valentin Korabelnikov
156. Who is appointed as the new chief and managing director (CMD) of Air India
Mr. E.K. Bharat Bhushan
157. Who defeated I-League champions Churchill Brothers by 2-1 in the one-off Super Cup tie at the Devilal Sports Complex in Gurgaon on 26th April and won their third trophy of the season?
Mohun Bagan
158. Who was named as the English Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) Player of the Year for the first time despite starting just 12 league games this season?
Ryan Giggs (Manchester United)
159. Bollywood actor once called “the Clint Eastwood of the East” because of his maverick roles and manly swagger, died recently at Bangalore?
Feroz Khan
160. World Cup Cricket -2011 final will be held in?
Wankade Stadium, Mumbai
The cricket world cup will be held in 3 countries.
29 matches in India, 12 matches in Sri Lanka, 8 matches in Bangladesh.
161. Indian Premiere League(IPL)-2009 Facts:
First Six of IPL 09-Abhishek Nayar
First Four (Boundary) of IPL 09-Sanath Jayasurya
First wicket of IPL 09-Thilan Thushara
First Man of the Match of IPL 09-Sachin Tendulkar
First Century of IPL 09-AB de villiers

May 2009

162. Who has become the first person in the World to have a full face transplant?

Connie Culp
Connie Culp after face transplantation
Connie was shot by her husband, who also shot himself afterwards, but both of them survived. She lost her nose and needed tracheotomy to be able to breathe and the whole surgery took 22 hours.

Connie Culp-Earlier Photo
163. Name the Delhi-based automotive tyre maker, which announced the acquisition of Dutch-tyre firm Vredestein Banden BV, a subsidiary of Russia’s largest tyre manufacturer Amtel-Vredestein which went bankrupt last month.Apollo Tyres Ltd
164. Who is reappointed as Director-General of World Trade Organisation (WTO) for a second term of four years as from 1 September 2009?
Pascal Lamy

165. The South Korean blogger who was arrested in January and accused by the government of spreading false information about the worsening global economy, was acquitted recently?Park Dae-sung, as a financial blogger, he published posts in his blog named Minerva
166. Who has been selected as the new Chief Coach for the Indian Men’s Hockey team?Jose Brasa of Spain
167. Nepalese President Ram Baran Yadav recently rejected the Maoist led government’s decision to sack the army chief, pushing the country further into political crisis that threatens to derail the two-and-half-year-old peace process. Name the army chief?Rukmangat Katuwal
168. First concert of A.R.Rahman after winning the Oscar award was held in?Kozhikkode (Kerala) on May 3
169. The 16-year-old Delhi boy, who has won his second International Tennis Federation (ITF) title by defeating South African opponent Raven Klaasen at the DLTA complex on Saturday (May 2)?Yuki Bhambri
170. Name the Sri Lankan journalist and editor, who was assassinated on 8 January of this year, has been named as the laureate of the 2009 World Press Freedom Prize by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).Lasantha Wickrematunge
171. Who won his record fourth Rome Masters title, beating defending champion Novak DjokovicRafael Nadal
172. Former South Korean President who committed suicide by leaping to his death from a hill behind his house?

Roh Moo-Hyun
Roh, who was president from 2003 to 2008. Roh’s death came amid an investigation into a bribery scandal that had tarnished his reputation
173. A British charity fundraiser who won the “best job in the world” i.e., caretaker of an Australian tropical island — after an innovative marketing campaign that highlighted the power of social media?
Ben Southal
174. Name the chief of the Anti Crime Cell of Indonesia who is arrested recently for a murder case?
Ansari Azhar
175. Who is appointed as the Country Director of Western Union Financial services for its India operations ?Kiran Shetty
176. Who has won the Chess Oscar for the third time, the game’s most prestigious annual award?Viswanathan Anand
177. Who was sworn in as South Africa’s new president?
Jacob Zuma
He becomes fourth democratically-elected president of the country since the end of apartheid in 1994.
178. Which country won the gold medal in the recurve team event of the archery World Cup Stage II at Porec, Croatia?
India.
India’s fearsome threesome of Jayanta Talukdar, Rahul Banerjee and Mangal Singh Champia defeated Russian Federation by 220 points to 218.
Italy won the bronze beating China 221-219.
179. Who won the Spanish Grand Prix Car race title?Britain’s Jenson Button
180. The First South Indian(Malayalee) who has been appointed as the secretary of Supreme Court of India ?
M.P.Bhadran
181. Who has been appointed as the Managing Director and CEO of ICICI prudential Life?
V.Vaidyanathan
182. Indian-origin anti-apartheid activist who has been inducted into South African President Jacob Zuma’s cabinet, taking the number of people from the community in the government to seven.Maggie Govender
183. Who won Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year award, recently ?
Steven Gerrard
184. Which team rallied for a 4-1 victory against Athletic Bilbao for its record 25th Spanish King’s Cup title?
Barcelona
185. In a case prosecuted by the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, a federal judge sentenced an investment adviser, age 38, of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, to ten years in federal prison on federal mail and wire fraud for defrauding his investment advisory clients. Who is he ?
Amit Mathur
186. Which team won the Copa Italia Football title ?
Lazio
Lazio beat Sampdoria(6-5)
187. The new model car launched by Maruti in May-2009?
Ritz
188. Britain’s first Muslim minister resigned from office Seeking to clear his name from media accusations of breaching his ministerial code over expenses?
Shahid Malik
189. Which team won the 18th English Premiere league title 2009 by holding off Arsenal to a draw?
Manchester United
190. India’s largest direct-to-home service and part of the biggest media conglomerate, Zee Group which announced their association with ‘Microsoft Xbox 360 Arcade’, the next generation video gaming and entertainment system on their platform?
Dish TV
191. Former South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce president who has been elected Vice President of Federation of International Film Producers Association [FIAF] for 2009 – 2011?
P.V Gangadharan, It is for the first time an Indian arrives in the prestigious position
192. LTTE(Liberation Tigers o f Tamil Eelam) leader who was killed by Sri Lankan Army ?
Velupillai Prabhakaran
193. Who sets world record over 150 meters in 14.35 seconds on the streets of Manchester?
Usain Bolt, the reigning world record holder at 100m and 200m, sets the world record over 150 meters
194. The first British Speaker to be forced out of office in over 300 years because of his handling of a scandal on MPs’expenses?
Michael Martin
195. Self-styled god man of Kerala who was sentenced to 16 years of rigorous imprisonment and a penalty of Rs 2,10,000 for raping two minor girls?
Santhosh Madhavan (Swamy Amrutha Chaithanya)
196. Who is the new Prime Minister of Kuwait?
Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammed al-Ahmed al-Sabah
197. The only Indian who hit a century in IPL?
Maneesh Pandey (114 Not Out) of Bangalore Royal challengers
Only two players have century in IPL-2009, the other is Ab Devilliers(105 Not Out) of Delhi Dare Devils
198. Orange Cap Holder of DLF IPL 2009(It is given for the player who is the leading run scorer in the match.)?Mathew Hayden of Chennai Super Kings. He scored 572 runs
199. Purple Cap holder of DLF IPL 2009(It is given for the player who is the leading wicket taker in the match)
R.P.Singh(23 Wickets)
200. Man of the match in the final of IPL-2009 ?
Anil Kumble(16 /4 in 4 overs)
201. IPL-2009 is held in ?South Africa
202. IPL-2009 is won by ?Deccan Chargers, they beat Bangalore Royal Challengers in the final.
203. UEFA Cup, European trophy, which has been won by a Ukrainian team for the first time in the history of Ukrainian football?
Shakhtar
204. Name the Malawi’s President who has been sworn in for a second five-year term recently ?
Bingu wa Mutharika
205. Name THE WORLD’S oldest blogger, Spanish great-grandmother who had a global following, has died at the age of 97.

Maria Amelia Lopez,
According to the AP, her first post on December 23, 2006 said that her grandson, who is very stingy, gave her a blog for her birthday. Her site had more than 1.5 million hits.
Their blog address: http://www.amis95.blogspot.com/
206. Veteran communist leader who has been sworn in as the Nepal’s new prime minister?
Madhav Kumar Nepal
207. Veteran freedom-fighter and soldier of the INA, who served as the driver of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, died at his house at Mathil, near Payyanur in Kannur district of Kerala?A Chindan Nair
208. Who is appointed as the next chief of NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)?Charles F. Bolden Jr
Bolden is a former astronaut who was involved in several critical missions for the US Space Agency.
209. Who was re-elected to the largely ceremonial post of German president recently for a second five-year term?
Horst Kohler
210. An American scientist whose work helped lead to the development of the anti-impotency drug Viagra, died at the age of 92 in Seattle?Robert F Furchgott
211. Who won the Monaco Grand Prix Car race title?
Jenson Button(Britain)
212. Name the Civil rights activist, who was given bail by the Supreme Court, walked free from Raipur jail after two years of incarceration?Binayak Sen
213. The country which started its first new overseas military base(named as Peace Camp) since the end of the colonial era at Abudabi of UAE(United Arab Emirates)
France

214. Who has been appointed the new Pro-Vice- Chancellor of the Kerala University?J.Prabhash
215. New President of Mongolia?Tsakhiaglin Elbegdorj(Democratic Party)
216. Prasar Bharati Chairman who resigned recently because he was “dissatisfied” with the functioning of the Board?Arun Bhatnagar
217. Man of the series of Natwest series between England and West Indies?Stuart Broad
England won the series by (2-0)
218. Who wins 2009 Man Booker International Prize for lifetime achievement?Alice Munro
This Canadian short story writer will get prize worth £60,000.
It was first awarded to Ismail Kadare in 2005 and then to Chinua Achebe in 2007.
219. New US Ambassador to India?
Timothy J Roemer
220. Who became etched in football history as the first Asian footballer to have played in the final of Champions League?
Park J-sung
221. Champions League-2009 is won by ?
Barcelona.
Barcelona beat Manchester United highlights in the final by 2-0
222. Who is appointed as the Deputy Chief Minister of TamilNadu ?
M.K.Stalin
223. Who is appointed as the new Chief Secretary of Kerala State ?
Neela Gangadharan
224. Who has been named winner of the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award (2008) for the second time, following her sensational gold medal winning performance at the Beijing Olympics
Yelena Isinbayeva (Russia’s Pole Vault player)
225. Who has won the prestigious Scripps National Spelling Bee 2009 final?
Kavya Shivashankar, a 13-year-old student from Olathe, Kansas, whose parents migrated to the United States from India

June 2009

226. Who has been appointed as the Chief of the Indian Air Force with effect from the afternoon of May 31, 2009?
Air Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik
227. Who is appointed as the first woman Speaker of the Lok Sabha in 2009?
Meira Kumar
228. Who was elected as BJP’s Parliamentary party leader after the recent elections in 2009?
L K Advani
229. Noted Malayalam writer and poetess, who earned fame for her works in English, passed away recently, leaving behind a rich treasure of poems and stories of love?

Kamala Das (also known as Kamala Surayya)
230. In which state FIFA will set up Soccer Academy for the first time in India?
Kerala
231. Which team won the French League title for the first time since 1999.
Bordeaux

232. Which country’s air jet vanished over the Atlantic Ocean carrying 216 passengers and 12 crew members after flying into a strong thunderstorm over the Atlantic Ocean and signaling it had an electric problem?
France
Air France Flight 447, an Airbus A330, carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris vanished over the Atlantic Ocean and no one survived.

233. American President Barack Obama recently ushered the second car giant of the world into bankruptcy protection and put the government behind the wheel of the company ?
General Motors Corp
234. Scottish singing sensation, who rose to fame on reality show “Britain’s Got Talent” but lost to dance group Diversity in the final, was admitted to a private clinic for treatment for exhaustion (emotional breakdown)?
Susan Boyle
235. The last survivor of the legendary ocean liner Titanic, which sank on its maiden voyage in April 1912 after striking an iceberg in the North Atlantic?

Millvina Dean.
She aged 97 who died in England recently earlier known as Elizabeth Gladys Dean
11. Former senior diplomat who has been appointed as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s special adviser for nonproliferation and arms control?
Robert J. Einhorn

236. Organization of American States (OAS) recently agreed to lift the ban on a country after 47 years? Which is that country?
Cuba
237. Defence Minister of Australia who resigned recently, after saying he did not fully comply with the ministerial code of conduct.
Joel Fitzgibbon
238. American Actor who has been found dead in a Bangkok hotel room, whose extensive record of on-screen appearances included the movie Kill Bill and the TV show Kung Fu, was apparently found in a closet with a cord around his neck and around parts of his body?

David Carradine
239. Grammy Award winner, who dubbed the “Queen of the Blues,” died recently in her native Chicago following complications from her May 19th surgery for gastrointestinal bleeding?

Koko Taylor
240. Who is appointed as the new Home Secretary of India ?
G.K. Pillai (Gopal Krishna Pillai)
241. The J.C. Daniel Award for 2008 instituted by Kerala Government is won by?
K. Ravindranathan Nair, popularly known as General Pictures Ravi.
242. Who is appointed as the General Manager of State Bank of India, Kerala Circle?
V. Ramamoorthy.
243. Presidential candidate and minister in Guinea-Bissau who was shot dead when armed men stormed into his house?
Baciro Dabo
244. Who is the leader of the Indian Arctic expedition team?
Dr.Muhammad Hatha
245. Who wins French Open women’s singles title 2009?
Svetlana Kuznetsova She won her second Grand Slam title beating top-ranked Dinara Safina 6-4, 6-2 in the French Open final.
246. Which country becomes the first nation other than the hosts to qualify for the 2010 World Cup Football in South Africa after they beat Uzbekistan 1-0?
Japan
247. Indian scientists recently have cloned the world’s second buffalo just three months after the first one died of pneumonia within a week of birth. What is the name of that buffalo?

Garima
The calf, named Garima, was born at 11 a.m. at the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Karnal, and weighed 43 kg. The first cloned buffalo was born on February 6.
248. Who has won Formula One’s Turkish Grand Prix ?
Jenson Button
He won the Turkish Grand Prix for his sixth victory in seven Formula One Car races.
249. Who wins French Open Men’s Singletitle 2009?
Roger Federer
Roger Fedrer defeated Robin Soderling in straight sets [6-1, 7-6, 6-4] to clinch the 2009 French Open Men’s Single title at Roland Garro
Roger Federer has become the second man, after Pete Sampras to win the maximum number of Grand Slams.
Roger Federer is the first man since Andre Agassi to win all 4 Grand Slams and 6th player to do so. Ironically, this is Federer’s first win at the French Open.
250. CPI-M leader and Party State Secretary of Kerala who is included in the charge sheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as one of the eight accused in the Rs.300 crore (Rs.3 billion) SNC Lavalin corruption scam?
Pinarayi Vijayan
The Kerala state governor R S Gavai has allowed the prosecution proceedings against Pinarayi vijayan who was the power minister in the E K Nayanar cabinet during 1996.
251. Eminent playwright and theatre artist, one of the greatest stalwarts of the Indian stage, was known for blending theatre, folk art and poetry in his works, died of a heart attack in a city hospital in Bhopal recently?

Habib Tanvir
252. Who was unanimously elected as the new Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha by a voice vote?
Karia Munda(B.J.P)
253. Which country has become the world’s second biggest military spender behind the United States of America(U.S.A)?
China
254. Who is appointed as Australia’s next High Commissioner to India?
Peter Varghese
255. Who has been appointed as the managing director of Volkswagen Group Sales India Private Limited?
Maik Stephan
256. Mohun Bagan, one of the oldest football club of India recently suspended its captain for six months from playing for the club, citing “violation of rules and regulations”. Name that captain ?
Baichung Bhutia
257. Which oil company decided to pay compensation to late Nigerian writer Ken Saro Wiwa’s family and those of the other eight Ogoni leaders executed along with him in 1995 by the late General Sani Abacha military junta?
Royal Dutch Shell
258. Which word is selected as the millionth word of the English Language?
Web 2.0
“Web 2.0″ refers to what is perceived as a second generation of web development and web design. It is characterized as facilitating communication, information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design and collaboration on the World Wide Web. The term “Web 2.0″ was coined by Darcy DiNucci in her article “Fragmented Future,”
in 1999.
259. Name the Jamaican sprinter who won the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award for his record-breaking performance in the Beijing Olympics.
Usain Bolt
260. Name the Portuguese footballer and Manchester United winger who set a world record transfer fee of 80 million pound (130 million U.S. dollars) as he signed a six-year deal with Real Madrid Club ?
Cristiano Ronaldo
261. Which is the 112th element on the Periodic table?
Ununbium
Ununbium, element 112, has recently been added to the periodic table,
Ununbium was first created on February 9, 1996 by Sigurd Hofmann at the Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt, Germany.Ununbium is not the element’s official name; the temporary moniker was given by IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) and comes from “ununbi”, or “one one two” in Latin.
262. Which Foreign university conferred Former Indian President A P J Abdul Kalam with honorary Doctorate of Laws for distinction in public service?
Queen’s University Belfast, a prominent varsity based in Northern Ireland
263. Japanese Internal Affairs and Communications Minister who decided to resign over a conflict about the reappointment of the president of government-owned Japan Post, Yoshifumi Nishikawa?
Kunio Hatoyama
264. Senior Nepali Congress leader and the country’s first deputy woman Prime Minister who had been suffering from pneumonia and Alzheimer’s died recently at the age of 65 ?
Shailaja Acharya
265. Newly elected President of Iran ?
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
266. A 136-year-old stamped envelope known to collectors as “The Ice House Cover” carries a rare stamp of former American President. Name that President?
Abraham Lincoln
It was stolen from an Indiana collector in 1967, surfaced 39 years later in Chicago and was sold at auction by the Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Inc., in New York.

267. Who are the champions of 63rd Santosh Trophy Football title?
Goa
Goa defeated 29 time champions West Bengal by 2-4 in the final
268. Who won the WinWInD Golden Boot Award for the Top scorer
P. C. Riju (Striker, Tamil Nadu)
269. Player of the Tournament of Santosh Trophy?
P. Muthu (Striker, Tamil Nadu)
270. Which team won the Fair-play Award of Santosh Trophy ?
Goa
271. Which is the most commonly misspelt word in the English language, according to a new study by market research company www.OnePoll.com?
Definitely
Flummoxed people regularly writing it as “definately”.
The Top 10 most commonly misspelt words in the study by www.OnePoll.com were:
1 Definitely (Definately);
2 Sacrilegious (Sacreligious);
3 Indict (Indite);
4 Manoeuvre (Maneouvre);
5 Bureaucracy ( Beaurocracy);
6 Broccoli (Brocolli);
7 Phlegm (Phleghm);
8 Prejudice ( Predjudice);
9 Consensus (Conscensus);
10 Unnecessary (Unecessary).
50. America’s new army chief in Afghanistan over to run the war in Afghanistan under fire over abusive treatment and interrogation of detainees in Iraq, according to human rights investigators.
Gen Stanley MacChrystal
272. Bollywood actor who has been detained after having been accused of rape by his maid servant aged 19?
Shiney Ahuja
273. The Chinese waitress who stabbed to death a communist party official Deng Guida, who was trying to rape her, has been released recently by a court in Hubei province in China?
Deng Yujiao
274. Mogadishu’s(Somalia) police chief, , who was killed when government forces attempted to dislodge the insurgents from positions in south Mogadishu?
Colonel Ali Saed
275. Somalia’s Security Minister who has been killed in a suicide car bomb attack north of the capital Mogadishu?
Omar Hashi Aden
276. Name the Kathakali maestro who excelled in depicting women characters in classical theatre, has been selected for the Kerala government’s highest award for Kathakali artistes which carrying a cash award of Rs one lakh and a citation ?
Kottakkal Sivaraman
277. The IPL coach of Kolkata Knight Riders who was expelled by the team management after their team’s poor performance in the second IPL?
John Buchanan
278. Chelsea striker who has been bannedby European football body UEFA for 6 years for his Champions League semi-final outburst?
Didier Drogba
279. Who is elected as the new President of Abu Dhabi’s prestigious India Social & Culture Centre (ISCC)?
Y. Sudhir Kumar Shetty
280. The sarod maestro who died recently in San Francisco, following a prolonged kidney ailment?
Ustad Ali Akbar Khan
281. Who has been chosen by the legendary sports stars of the Laureus World Sports Aacdemy as the 2009 Laureus World Comeback of the Year?
‘King of the Ring’ Vitali Klitschko
282. The world’s oldest man, who has died at his home in southern Japan on June 19, 2009 at the age of 113?
Tomoji Tanabe,
283. Champions of ICC 20-20 Cricket World cup?
Paksitan, they beat Sri Lanka in the final
Man of the match in the final: Shahid Afridi
Man of the series: Tilakaratne Dilshan
284. Who won ICC 20-20 Women’s World cup?
England, they beat New Zealand in the final
Player of the Match: Katherine Brunt.
Player of the Series: Claire Taylor
285. “Satyam Computers” now renamed by Tech Mahindra as:
Mahindra Satyam
286. Ace woman shuttler who scripted history by becoming the first Indian to win a Super Series tournament after clinched the Indonesian Open title with a stunning victory over higher ranked Chinese Lin Wang in Jakarta?
Saina Nehwal
287. The island which expanded its powers of self-rule on its national day in a move many residents see as a step toward independence from Denmark?
Greenland
288. Who is appointed as captain of Bangladesh Cricket Team for the forthcoming tours of West Indies and Zimbabwe?
Mashrafe Mortaza
Shakib Al Hasan, the world’s No.1 allrounder in ODIs, has been named the vice-captain.
289. Who is appointed as the new governor of Karnataka ?
Hans Raj Bhardwaj
290. Which country won bronze medal in the light-weight women’s Quadruple Sculls in the World Cup 2, held at Munich (Germany)?
India
291. Who is the New Chief Minister of Uttarakhand
Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank
292. Who is appointed as the Chairman of National Authority for Unique Identity?
Nandan Nilekani, the Infosys Chief
293. Who is appointed as the United States Special Representative to Muslim Communiites by the Obama administration ?
Farah Pandith
294. Greek musician Yanni, who dedicated his new song ‘Changes’ to a Bollywood actress.Who is she ?
Mallika Sherawat
295. The second statue of India’s independence hero Mahatma Gandhi is unveiled in a country recently. Where is it?
Britain. (Leicester in southeast England)
296. Pop Sensation who died of lethal levels of potent medicines and drugs at the age of 50?
Michael Jackson
297. One of the pioneers of women’s studies in India, died recently , who set up India’s first Research Centre for Women’s Studies at SNDT Women’s University and served as its first director ?
Dr Neera Desai
298. An emerging Indian-American leader in California who has been selected for the prestigious White House Fellow for the year 2009-2010?
Anish Mahajan
299. Who is the new prime minister of Lebanon?
Saad Hariri
300. Popular Malayalam Film Director and one of the best scriptwriters that Malayalam cinema ever produced, died recently?
A.K.Lohitha Das
301. which country won the inaugural Women’s Champions Challenge II hockey title with a thumping 6-3 win over Belgium in the final?
India (Rani Rampal of India hit 4 goals in the final)
302. Class 11 student of Kerala who won a silver medal at the World School Athletics championship held in Estonia in northern Europe.
Binish K. Shaji
303. Which country won the Confederations Cup football title of 2009?
Brazil. They beat the United States 3-2 and win the Confederations Cup for the third time.
304. Who wins Golden Ball as Confederations Cup best player?
Kaka, Brazilian midfielder
305. Only three Indian greats who figure in the International Cricket Council’s 55-strong Hall of Fame list, which has 22 Englishmen?
Left-arm spin wizard Bishen Singh Bedi ,
Prolific opener Sunil Gavaskar
Champion all-rounder Kapil Dev

July 2009

306. India’s first “sea bridge” which was officially opened in Mumbai, which is 5.6-kilometre (3.5-mile) long covers from?Bandra to Worli Sea
It is hoped that the 16.5-billion-rupee (340-million-dollar) eight-lane freeway will help cut the 40-minute journey between the suburbs of Bandra and Worli to just eight minutes and will ease chronic congestion on the city’s notoriously choked roads. Sea Link was inaugurated by the ruling Congress party Chief Sonia Gandhi and named after her late husband and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
307. The only known survivor of the crash of the Yemeni airliner clung to wreckage in the Indian Ocean carrying 153 people (142 passengers, 11 crew members)?Baya Bakari, 13.year old girl
308. The Commission probing the 1992 demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya which submitted its report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently?Liberhan Commission
309. India’s ambassador to China, who is appointed as the next foreign secretary of India ?Nirupama Rao
310. Former England cricket captain who retired from all forms of professional cricket recently?Michael Vaughan
311. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has recently invited a musician from India to join its roster of voting members. (i.e. Oscar Academy Membership). Name that musician?
A.R. Rahman
312. Confederations Cup champions who ousted Spain from the first place at FIFA world Football ranking, after one year of leadership?Brazil
313. Veteran Japanese diplomat who was elected as new director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)?Yukiya Amano
314. The state of USA which was declared a fiscal emergency recently as the Legislature continued struggling with a budget for the cash-strapped state?California
315. Air Marshal of Southern Air Command chief, who has been appointed as Honorary Air aide de camp (ADC) to President Pratibha Patel?
S. Radhakrishnan
316. Famous Indian painter whose one painting was auctioned for a record $2 million at Christie’s in June 2008 passed away recently due to a cardiac ailment?
Tyeb Mehta
317. Prime minister of Croatia and leader of the centre-right Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) who resigned recently?

Ivo Sanader
318. Who won the Wimbledon Women’s Singles title 2009 after defeating Venus Williams in the final?Serena Williams
319. Who has taken charge as the new Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) from July 6, 2009.Raghu Menon
320. Who won the Wimbledon Men’s Singles title 2009 after defeating Andy Roddick in the final?Roger Federer. He becomes the first man to win 15 grand slams, and to regain the world No 1 ranking.
321. Who won Wimbledon Women’s doubles title 2009?Venus Williams and Serena Williams. They beat Samantha Stosur and Rennae Stubbs of Australia
322. Who won Wimbledon men’s doubles title 2009?Daniel Nestor of Canada and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia won Wimbledon men’s doubles title 2009. They beat top-seeded American twins Bob and Mike Bryan in the final.
323. The Organisation of American States (OAS) recently expelled a country in reaction to last week’s military coup that ousted its President Manuel Zelaya. Which is that country?
Honduras
324. American court has recently banned publication of a Swedish book promoted as a sequel to JD Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye”. ? Name that book and its author?“60 Years Later: Coming through the Rye” written by Fredrik Colting
325. Who became the first woman Prime Minister of Croatia?Jadranka Kosor
326. The person who served as US defence secretary during the Vietnam War and the Cuban Missile Crisis, has died recently at the age of 93?Robert McNamara
327. Who won the mixed doubles titles at Wimbledon 2009?Mark Knowles of the Bahamas and Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany.
They beat top-seeded Leander Paes of India and Cara Black of Zimbabwe 7-5, 6-3, in the final.
328. Pakistan Cricket player and one of its cricketing pioneers, who bowled the first delivery and took the first wicket in the country’s inaugural Test match died recently after battling prostate cancer?Khan Mohammad
329. Who is appointed as Director (Projects) of GAIL India?Mr R D Goyal
330. French Tennis Player, who was banned by ATP Tour for betting on matches, found dead in stairwell of his Paris apartment ?
Mathieu Montcourt
331. City of Australia which has decided to ban the sale and use of bottled water to act for the preservation of the environment?Bundanoon
332. Player of Manchester United’s who has joined Real Madrid for $70 million?
Cristiano Ronaldo
333. Versatile Actor who was inducted into the Territorial Army as Honorary Lieutenant Colonel.
Mohanlal
This Malayalam Superstar has won four national awards and the second recent high-profile personality after Kapil Dev to don the Territorial Army uniform.
Lt Col Mohan Lal will be working with the Kerala based 122 Infantry Battalion of the Territorial Army (TA).
334. Name the first pilot from Kerala of the Royal Air Force (Later Indian Air Force) and the First Head Of Training Team of The Indian National Defence Academy who died recently?Moorkoth Ramunni
335. Fifteen-year-old girl of Toronto who broke the world record in the women’s 50-metre breaststroke at the world championships swimming trials?Amanda Reason
336. Who sets new world record in 100 meter backstroke and first ever to go under 52 sec (51.94 seconds) at the U.S. national championships.Aaron Peirsol
337. Global fast food Company which has apologized to Hindus for running an advertisement in Spain that showed an Indian goddess Lakshmi about to eat a beef burger?Burger King
338. Who is elected as president of Indonesia for the second term?Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
339. Former Australian coach John Buchanan has criticized some of the present and former Indian cricket stars like Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh in his recently-published book. Name of that book.“The Future of Cricket: The Rise of Twenty20.”
340. The Cricket Team which have boycotted the series against Bangladesh because of an outstanding contractual dispute with its Cricket board?West Indies Cricket Team
350. Who will remain captain of the German national team for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa?Michael Ballack
351. Who sets new world record in 100 meter butterfly at the U.S. national championships in 50.22 seconds, lowering Ian Crocker’s mark of 50.40 set at the 2005 world championships in Montreal?Michael Phelps
352. Which country finished at the first position at the 5th South Asian Shooting Championship bagging 21 gold medals out of 24 gold medals?India
353. Player turned coach who has been named the India under-16 football coach for the Asian qualifiers to be held in Abu Dhabi in October 2009.C.M. Ranjith
354. The world’s most famous bell ringing out the hours on the world’s most famous clock, celebrated its 150th anniversary on July 11, 2009 in London?
Big Ben
355. The former boxing champion and one of the most amazing boxer of his generation, who has been found dead in a Brazilian hotel room recently?
Arturo Gatti
356. Who sets new world record in 200 meter backstroke at the U.S. national championships?Aaron Peirsol
357. Indian Squash player who won the third WISPA title of her career when she defeated home favourite Low Wee Wern in the final of the $ 16,000 NSC series event on Saturday in Kuala Lumpur in MalaysiaJoshna Chinappa
358. Who wins Newport Hall of Fame Tennis championships ATP Title?Rajeev Ram
359. Renowned Marathi actor to win Maharashtra government’s best actor award consecutively for three years, died recently in Pune after prolonged illness?Neelu Phule
360. A distinguished conductor and his wife have recently died at the Dignitas suicide clinic in Switzerland. He was conductor emeritus of the BBC Philharmonic among many other great achievements, and Lady Downes, 74, was a former ballet dancer and choreographer. Who are they?Sir Edward Downes and Joan
361. Second cricket test between Srilanka and Pakistan at Colombo won by?Srilanka
Man of the match: Fawad Alam
Sri Lanka won the first test match on the last day of the match.
362. Former prime minister of Poland and European Parliament member since 2004, who has been elected president of the European Parliament?Jerzy Buzek
363. Who is appointed as the new defence secretary of India?Pradeep Kumar
364. First test between West Indies and Bangladesh held in July is won by?Bangladesh
365. Indian Scientist and National Research Professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research who has been nominated for the prestigious Royal Medal by the Royal Society, London.Prof. C.N.R. Rao,
366. England all-rounder who decided to retire from test cricket after the ashes series against Australia?
Andrew Flintoff
367. Who has become the first Indian batsman in over four years to head the batting rankings in test matches by ICC?Gautam Gambhir
368. Canadian comedian of Indian parents, came from Kolkatta, who has been ranked among the Top 10 Earning Comedians in the world by Forbes?
Russell Peters
369. Carnatic music exponent and film playback singer in many Indian languages, popularly referred as one of the “female trinity of Carnatic music” who passed away at the age of 90?Damal Krishnaswamy Pattammal (D.K.Pattammal)
370. Chairman of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization who resigned from his post?Gholam Reza Aghazadeh
371. The space shuttle of NASA descended safely to Earth, ending a successful 16-day assembly mission to the international space station ?
Endeavour
372. Summit of the Non-Allied Movement in 2012 will take place in?Iran.
373. Former India cricket captain who has been awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the University of Lancashire.Sourav Ganguly
374. Name the club of Argentina which won the Libertadores Cup beating Brazil’s Cruzeiro by two goals to one?Estudiantes
375. The Middlesex University in Hendon, London, has conferred an Indian music director with an honorary doctorate. Who is he?A.R.Rahman
376. Name the 112th element which has been officially added to the Periodic Table, earlier named as Ununbium?Copernicium.
The element with symbol “Cp” is named in honor of astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus. This name is expected to be officially endorsed by IUPAC in January 2010, after six months for discussion.
377. Lt Governor of the Union Territory of Puducherry?Iqbal Singh
378. New Governors of States of India
Uttar Pradesh-B.L. Joshi
Gujarat-Devendra Nath Dwivedi
Assam-Syed Sibtey Razi
Jharkhand-K Sankaranarayanan
Uttrakhand- Margaret Alva
Hariyana-Jagannath Pahadia
379. “The most trusted man in America,” who was the pioneering television news anchor died recently at the age of 92?Walter Cronkite
380. First World War veteran who became the world’s oldest man last month died at the age of 113.Henry Allingham
381. Srilankan bowler who retired from test cricket after the test match against Pakistan?Chaminda Vas
382. Womens hockey champions trophy won by?Argentina. They beat Australia (4-3) in the final
383. India agreed to enter into an understanding on end-use monitoring agreement recently with a country that will pave the way for greater defence cooperation. Which country?United States of America
384. Second test of Ashes held at Lord’s won by?England. This is for the first time in 75 years that England has won the Ashes at Lord’s. They beat Australia by 115 runs in the second Test
Man of the Match: Andrew Flintoff (five wickets for 92 runs)
385. The solar eclipse witnessed on the month of July 2009 was the longest total solar eclipse during the 21st century, not to be surpassed until June 2132. It lasted a maximum of 6 minutes and 39 seconds off the coast of Southeast Asia, causing tourist interest in eastern China, Japan, India and Nepal. Which day it witnessed?July 22, 2009
386. The second Indian archer to win a Youth World Championship title after bagging gold in the girls’ Cadet Recurve category in the 11th edition of the tournament at Ogden (Utah), USA?Deepika Kumari
387. The Airlines apologized for frisking former Indian President Abdul Kalam at the Indira Gandhi International Airport when he was going on a visit to the US this April?Continental Airlines of U.S.A
388. Hindustani music legend who mesmerized audiences with her melodious voice for over six decades, died recently?Gangubai Hangal
389. Test Cricket Series between West Indies and Bangladesh won by ?Bangladesh.(2-0)
Man of the Match: Shakib Al Hasan
390. Who was awarded the Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Reconciliation and Peace?Aung San Suu Kyi, the Myanmarese pro-democracy activist and leader,
391. Who becomes the first ever black Miss England?Rachel Christie
392. Former Peruvian president who was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison on corruption charges.?Alberto Fujimori
393. Who is named as new LTTE chief ?Selvarasa Pathmanathan
394. Who became the youngest player (12 years old) ever to play in professional football when he came on as a substitute for Aurora in a Bolivian Clausura championship match?Mauricio Baldivieso
395. Who becomes the highest ever Australian run scorer in first class cricket surpassing the record of the legendary Sir Donald Bradman?Justin Langer
396. Two piano works recently have been identified as the creation of a legendary musician which has long been in the possession of the International Mozarteum Foundation in the Austrian city of Salzburg. Name that musician?Mozart (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.)
397. Newly elected President of Kyrgyzstan?Kurmanbek Bakiyevi
398. Which country has won the team tech gold medal in synchronized swimming at the world championships?Russia.
Russia has won both gold medals in synchro at the last three Olympics.
399. Test Cricket series between Srilanka and Pakistan held is won by?Sri Lanka won the series by 2-0.
Man of the series:Nuvan Kulasekhara
Man of the match of third test: Kumar Sangakkara. Third Test ended in a draw.
400. Who received the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2007?Bill Gates, on behalf of “Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation” for their exemplary philanthropic work across the world and in India especially in the area of health.
401. One of the world’s largest optical telescopes, installed on a mountain in the Canary Islands, which is extremely powerful and will be able to spot some of the faintest, most distant objects in the Universe?
Great Canary Telescope
With a main mirror 10.4 metre across, it will effectively be the largest telescope for visible and infrared light in the world.
402. India’s first nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine at the naval dockyard, Visakhapatnam which is launched by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur on July 26,2009?INS Arihant
403. Eminent music director and sitarist composed the musical scores for about 40 films in Hindi, Marathi, and Malayalam who blended Indian classical and Western music in his work, was a disciple of Pandit Ravi Shankar died at the age of 73?Bhaskar Chandavarkar
404. Who won ITF Lexington Challenger Tennis title?Sania Mirza
405. Which country won CONCACAF Gold Cup Football title beating U.S.A (5-0) in the final?Mexico
406. Who has been awarded the 2009 Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience award?Aung San Suu Kyi
407. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister who resigned after a senior PDP leader alleged in the state assembly that he was involved in the 2006 sex scandal, a charge dismissed by him as false?Omar Abdullah
408. Who win gold in the women’s 200 metres individual medley at the World Championships?Ariana Kukors(U.S.A)
409. Who won women’s 100 metres butterfly final at the world swimming championships?Sarah Sjostrom(Sweden)
410. Veteran Malayalam actor, who won critical acclaim for the ease with which he portrayed villainous roles in Malayalam and Tamil cinema died at the age of 55?Rajan P.Dev
411. Charismatic Jaipur royal, a three-time MP and who was once named as ”World’’s Ten Most Beautiful Women” by ”Vogue” magazine, died here today following a prolonged illness.?Rajmata Gayatri Devi
412. Sports Awards 2009:Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna:
M.C. Marykom (boxer),
Vijender Kumar (boxer)
Sushil Kumar (wrestling)
Arjuna Award:
Mangal Singh Champia (archery), Sinimol Paulose (athletics), Saina Nehwal (badminton), L. Saritha Devi (boxing), Tania Sachdeva (chess), Gautam Gambhir (cricket), Ignatius Tirkey (hockey), Surinder Kaur (hockey), Pankaj Shirsat (kabaddi), B. Prabhu (physically challenged), Satish Joshi (rowing), Ranjan Sodhi (shooting), Poulami Ghatak (table tennis), Yogeshwar Dutt (wrestling), G.L. Yadav (yatching)
Dronacharya Award:
Baldev Singh (hockey), Jaidev Bisht (boxing), Satpal (wrestling), Pullela Gopichand (badminton) and Udaikumar (kabaddi).
413. One day cricket series between West Indies and Bangladesh won by ?Bangladesh (2-0)
414. Who won gold in the 200- meter freestyle final at the world swimming championships in Rome?Paul Biedermann
He won in a world record time of 1 minute, 42 seconds, ahead of previous record-holder Michael Phelps
415. Who is appointed as the captain of 20-20 Team of Pakistan?Shahid Afridi

August 2009

416. Name the first private firm to be protected by Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which usually guard government installations?Infosys, Software giant
417. Which country will be the first international customer of the Boeing P-8I Poseidon, a variant of the P-8A Poseidon, US Navy’s newest maritime Patrol and reconnaissance aircraft showcased by the Boeing Company?India
418. Who won the gold medal in the final of the Men’s 100m Freestyle at the FINA Swimming World Championships in Rome?Cesar Cielo Filho(Brazil)
419. Who became Australia’s highest test run-scorer on the second day of the third Ashes test against England?Ricky Ponting
Ponting passed Allan Border’s mark of 11,174 runs (156 Tests).
Ponting -11,188 runs (134 Tests)
420. Country which enforced assisted suicide law that will apply to people who help their loved ones die as well as to those who help them die abroad?Britain
421. Name the first Sikh soldiers who are included the security wing of British Queen Elizabeth II?
Simranjit Singh and Lance Cpl. Sarvjit Singh
They are the first Sikhs to take part in patrols outside the queen’s residence and to stand watch over the Crown jewels at the Tower of London across town.
422. Which team won the Audi Cup after beating Manchester United 7-6 in the penalty shootout, after the 90 minutes ended in a 0-0 draw?Bayern Munich
423. Former England Football manager and coach, died at the age of 76 after a long battle with cancer?Bobby Robson
He led England to the World Cup semis during his reign from 1982 to 1990.
424. Who breaks world record in 200-meter medley (1:54.10), toppling Michael Phelps’ previous world record by 0.13 seconds?Ryan Lochte
425. Who has been appointed as the next Director General (DG) of the Border Security Force (BSF)?
> Raman Srivastava
426. Constitutional expert, who was recently appointed Governor of Gujarat, died recently due to liver problems even before he could take up his assignment?Devendra Nath Dwivedi
427. Which country won the Emerging Players Cricket Tournament title, defeating South Africa by 17 runs in the final ?India.
Virat Kohli cracked a rollicking century (104)in the final that helped India to win the title.
428. Indian men’s doubles pair who won the New Zealand Open Grand Prix title in Auckland, New Zealand?Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas
429. Who won the 100-meter butterfly at the world swimming championships in Rome, setting a World record to become the first swimmer to eclipse the event’s 50- second barrier?Michael Phelps
430. Asia’s first Female President and former President of the Republic of the Philippines who was hailed as a modern-day Joan of Arc died recently due to colon cancer?Corazon Cojuangco Aquino
431. 16th World Junior Women’s Team Squash Championship held in Chennai won by ?Egypt.
Heba el-Turk and Nour el-Sherbini of Egypt beat Hong Kong 2-0 in the final match.
432. Who won the World Junior Men’s Squash Championship title ?Mohamed El Shorbagy (Egypt)
433. Who has set the 38th world record of the world swimming championships in the men’s 50-meter backstroke.?Liam Tancock(Britain)
434. Who set the world record in the 50-meter breaststroke at the U.S. Open National Championships?Jessica Hardy
She split a time of 29.95 seconds to beat the previous mark of 30.09 set by Yuliya Efimova of Russia at the world championships.
435. Name of the nano satellite which is recently developed by a group of students at IIT Kanpur that provides real-time data on drought, flood, vegetation and forestation?Jugnu.
The nanosatellite costed Rs 2.5 crore to develop and will be handed over to ISRO. Santanu Agrawal, an M Phil student headed the successful team of whiz kids of IIT Kanpur.
436. Bollywood actress who selected Elesh Parujanwala, a Canadian businessman from Toronto, as her future bridegroom from among the three finalists in the reality show broadcast on NDTV Imagine.?Rakhi Sawant
437. Prominent Indian social activist, who has done pioneering work for “development of rural communities”, was named along with five others for the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for 2009, considered as Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize.Deep Joshi
Other five 2009 Magsaysay awardees:
Krisana Kraisintu (Thailand)
Yu Xiaogang (China)
Antonio Oposa, Jr, (Philippines),
Ma Jun (China)
Ka Hsaw Wa (Burma)
438. Who is the new Chairman and Managing Director of GAIL (India) Ltd, the country’s largest gas transportation company?B C Tripathi
439. The five-match one-day Cricket series between Sri Lanka and Pakistan held in Sri Lanka won by?Srilanka (3-2)
Thilan Thushara was named Man of the Series.
440. A prominent Gandhian who made a mark in the history of the national movement by gifting her gold ornaments to Mahatma Gandhi as a 17-year-old, died recently ?Kaumudi teacher
Hailed by the Mahatma himself as a symbol of renunciation, Kaumudi voluntarily donated her ornaments to Gandhi during his visit to Vatakara , in Kerala in 1934
441. Who has bagged the prestigious UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize 2009?Khabar Lahariya, a fortnightly newspaper in Hindi run by rural women in Uttar Pradesh won the prestigious award. Nirantar, a non-governmental organisation, which runs “Khabar Lahariya” a fortnightly newspaper in Hindi
442. Noted South Indian actor and national award winner who had been closely associated with pro-Left cultural and intellectual movements in the state of Kerala, died recently ?
Murali. He won the state award for the best actor thrice and the national award in 2001 for his performance in Malayalam movie “Naithukaran”.
443. India Government has approved the acquisition of five Russian early warning choppers in a bid to strengthen the Navy’s capabilities to detect airborne and surface-based maritime threats. Name of that chopper?
Kamov-31
444. The last known surviving British soldier to have fought in the First World War trenches, died at the age of 111?
Harry Patch
445. The Pakistani Taliban leader who was killed recently in a CIA missile strike?Baitullah Mehsud
446. Who is the first Spanish woman to become the judge of the Supreme Court of United States?
Sonia Sotomayor
447. Hockey Test series between India and Belgium is won by?India
India clinch the three-match hockey series 2-1
448. Who is appointed as the Managing Director and Chief Executive of ING Vysya Bank for a period of three years?Shailendra Bhandari
449. Writer-director, Hollywood’s youth impresario of the 1980s and ’90s who captured the teen and preteen market with such favorites as “The Breakfast Club,” Sixteen Candles”,”Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and “Home Alone, died recently ?John Hughes
450. Which country dominated the Asian Youth Chess Championship, topping seven of the 12 categories as the event concluded at the Tivoli Garden Resort, New Delhi?India.
India won a total of eight gold, seven silver and eight bronze. Vietnam won two gold, while Kazakhstan, UAE and Iran won one each
451. Who is appointed as the army chief of Nepal?Lt. Gen. Chhatraman Singh Gurung
452. Indian-American, expert in Intellectual Property, who is appointed for a key post in the US Commerce Department by the president Barack Obama?RO Khanna.
He is an expert in Intellectual Property will work to open foreign markets to American technology.
453. Which team won the Italian Super Cup beating Inter Milan in the final by 2-1?Lazio
454. Which country won the World junior volleyball championship (Under 21) in 2009?Brazil. They beat Cuba in the final. Brazil had won the title in 2001 & 2007
and runners up in 2003 & 2005. Cuba had first time became runners-up in this tournament. India lost in the Semifinals and had to satisfy with the fourth position.
455. The Captain of the Spanish football team Espanyol, who has died from a heart attack at the age of 26?Dani Jarque
456. Who won the Man of the Match award in the fourth Ashes Test ?Marcus North
He won Man of the Match for his brilliant hundred in the first innings.
457. Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president who sworn-in as Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab for the second time this year?Sukhbir Singh Badal
458. Which team won the Community Shield football title beating Manchester United 4-1 on penalties at Wembley after the teams drew 2-2 ?Chelsea
459. Sister of former U.S.President John F. Kennedy, who carried on the family’s public service tradition by founding the Special Olympics and championing the rights of the mentally disabled, died recently at the age of 88?Eunice Kennedy Shriver
460. Name the bowler played for Holland in the recent Twenty20 World Cup , who is recently included in the Australian team for the 20-20 match against England?
Dirk Nannes
461. Name the TV crime show host who faces jail after allegedly ordering murders in a bid to boost television ratings?Wallace Souza
He is accused of arranging crimes and then broadcasting exclusive footage of the scenes.
462. One of the most revered guitarists in history and the father of the electric guitar, who passed away at the age of 94.
Photo Michael Ochs Archive Getty
Les Paul
463. Ashok Chakra, the nation’s highest peacetime award for gallantry on the eve of Independence Day is given to ?Major Mohit Sharma(Posthumous)
Major D. Sreeram Kumar
467. Keerthi Chakra Awardees:1.Major Amit Oscar Fernandes of 7 Maratha Light Infantry.
2.Major Deepak Tewari of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers Corps serving with 14 Rashtriya Rifles in Kashmir.
3.Paratrooper Shabir Ahmed Malik.
4.Naik Rishikesh Gurjar of 10 Rashtriya Rifles (Rajput).
468. Coach of West Indies who was sacked by the West Indies Cricket board ahead of the Champions Trophy?John Dyson
469. American who was sentenced to seven years in prison but then deported after swimming to the lakeside home of detained Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi?
John William Yettaw
470. Zimbabwe’s player who equaled Saeed Anwar’s record highest individual one-day international score of 194 in the match against Bangladesh?
Charles Coventry
471. Chinese ace who is poised to become the first player in World Badminton Championship history to win three successive men’s singles titles?Lin Dan
472. Who won the Rogers Cup doubles title beating Max Mirnyi and Andy Ram in Montreal.Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles.
473. Who won Britain’s first ever World Championship heptathlon gold medal at the 12th IAAF World Athletics Championships?Jessica Ennis
474. Who broke the world record at the 12th IAAF World Athletics Championships in Berlin after running the 100 meter sprint in just 9.58 seconds?Usain Bolt
475. Who broke the world record at the 12th IAAF World Athletics Championships in Berlin after running the 200 meter sprint in just 19.19seconds?Usain Bolt
476. Who won women’s shot put gold at the 12th World Athletic Championships in Berlin?Valerie Vili from New Zealand
477. Who becomes the first farmer of India to receive pension implemented by a state?N. Krishna Kurup. He is the first farmer to receive pension which is implemented by Government of Kerala
478. Who won the Cincinnati Open Tennis title after beating top-ranked Russian Dinara Safina in the final ?Jelena Jankovic
479. Scottish tennis player has won the Montreal Masters event in Canada beating Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro in the final?Andy Murray
480. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former president of South Korea who was crucial in promoting the country’s “Sunshine Policy” aiming at a detente with North Korea died recently?
Kim Dae Jung
481. Who is the Man of the series of One Day cricket series between Zimbabwe and Bangladsesh ?Tamim Iqbal(Bangladesh).Bangladesh won the series by 4-1.
482. Who captured the World Athletics Championships gold medal in the women’s 100 meters to claim the title of “World’s Fastest Woman”
Shelly-Ann Fraser
483. Who remains the world’s most powerful woman for 2009, according to a ranking published by Forbes magazine?Angela Merkel, German Chancellor
The list of the hundred women includes–
Sonia Gandhi (13),
Chanda Kochhar, CEO of ICICI Bank, India.
484. Ninety-six-year-old, a Florida resident of Indian origin who becomes the world’s oldest blogger.?Randall Butisingh
485. Who is appointed as new Pak Taliban chief?Hakimullah Mehsud
486. Who won the Man of the Match in the final test of Ashes held at The Ovalin 2009?Jonathan Trott became man of the match for his maiden century (119) in the debut Ashes Test match.
England won the Ashes (2-1) .
Man of the Series: Andrew Strauss (England)
Michael Clark (Australia)
487. Ethiopian Olympic Champion who won the gold medal in the 5000m and 10000m race in Berlin, marking the first time an athlete has ever won distance double at the IAAF World Athletics Championships?Kenenisa Bekele
488. The controversial book written by former union minister and B.J.P leader Jaswant singh that eulogising Mohd Ali Jinnah ?“Jinnah – India, Partition, Independence”
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) expelled Jaswant Singh from the primary membership of the party days after the release of his book praising Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan.
489. Who won the Rogers Cup Women singles title beating Maria Sharapova in the final?Elena Dementieva
490. Who won the Cincinnati Open Men’s Tennis title after beating Novak Djokovic in the final?Roger Federer
491. Which team lifts the Spanish Supercup football title?Barcelona
They beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 in the final
492. Who won the Miss Universe 2009 title?
Stefania Fernandez, Miss Venezuela
493. Who has been appointed director of the Regional Cancer Centre, Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala?Paul Sebastian
494. Which team won the 2009 Santiago Bernabeu Trophy by defeating Norwegian side Rosenborg (4-0) in the final ?Real Madrid
495. One of the most influential and longest-serving senators in the history of America who dies at the age of 77?Edward Kennedy. He is the brother of former US president John F Kennedy.
496. Who becomes the first left-arm spinner to claim 300 Test wickets?Daniel Vettori(New Zealand)
497. Which country has become Japan’s largest trading partner recently ?China
498. Who will be appointed as the Guwahati chief justice.?Justice Kurian Joseph
499. Which player was named the European Club Player of the Year 2009?Lionel Messi of Barcelona
500. Which team won the UEFA Supercup defeating Shakhtar Donetsk (1-0)?Barcelona
501. Who crowned the first ever Miss Bollywood UK at a gala event in Birmingham ?Reena Patel
502. Indians who won the mixed doubles title at the Chinese Taipei Grand Prix Gold badminton?Jwala Gutta and Valiyaveetil Diju
503. Who won the Man of the Series in the test series between Sri Lanka and New Zealand.Thilan Samaraveera(Sri Lanka)
Sri Lanka Won the series(2-0)

September 2009

504. Which country won Nehru Cup International Football Tournament 2009?India
India defeated Syria by 5-4 (penalty shootout) in the finals on August 31, 2009.
Goal-keeper Subroto Paul, who saved three penalties to become India’s saviour, was awarded the man of the match of the final.
India won this cup two times, 2007 & 2009.
505. Who won the Man of the Tournament award of Nehru Cup Football title-2009?Bhaichung Bhutia, Indian Captain
506. Which scientist is elected as the new President of International Academy of Astronautics (IAA)?Dr. Madhavan Nair, Chief of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
507. Who is the new Air Officer Commanding –in-Chief of Southern Air Command of India?Air Marshal Sumit Mukerjee. He is the only pilot in the history of IAF to have commanded units with the Mig-21,Mig-23U, Mig-25, Mig-27 and Mig-29 aircraft.
508. Who is appointed as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Southern Naval Command?Vice-Admiral K.N. Sushil
509. Who will act as a bowling consultant for the Kolkata Knight Riders during the third edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) next year?Vasim Akram
510. India achieved a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of how much percentage during April-June 2009?6.1%
511. The Indian-American fashion designer who charged with sexually assaulting seven girls was sentenced to 59 years of imprisonment on Aug 31?Anand Jon Alexander
512. Who is appointed as the new Air Officer-in-Charge Personnel (AOP)of the Indian Air Force (IAF)?Air Marshal KJ Mathews
513. Country which has been expelled from the Commonwealth after failing to announce plans to hold elections in 2010?Fiji
514. Distinguished scientist and the man in charge of the development of missile and strategic systems in the country, who is appointed as the chief of the Defence Research and Development Organisation(DRDO)?Dr Vijay Kumar Saraswat
515. Who is appointed as the vice chief of Indian Army?Lt General P C Bhardwaj
516. Bollywood Actor who has been appointed by Life insurance Company Max New York Life as the brand ambassador for Max Vijay, a brand specifically targeted at providing financial inclusion to the underprivileged masses?Amitabh Bachchan
517. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister who feared dead after his Bell 430 chopper crash-landed about 40 nautical miles east of the Kurnool mountainous area of Andra Pradesh?
Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy
518. The first Iranian female cabinet minister who is appointed since the foundation of the Islamic Republic 30 years?
Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi
Iranian parliament approves Marzieh as new health minister despite opposition from hardline MPs and clerics.
519. Who won the Man of the Series Award in the recent 20-20 cricket series between Sri Lanka and New Zealand which is held in Sri Lanka?Jesse Ryder(New Zealand).
New Zealand won the series by 2-0.
520. Lok Sabha Secretary General who was recently given a year’s extension by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar?P.D.T. Acharya
521. Who took over charge as Additional General Manager, Southern Railway?Shri A.K. Gupta
522. Athletes who won $1 million Golden League jackpot which is given by IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) to anyone who wins all six of the premier European meets?
(All gold Yelena Isinbayeva, Kenenisa Bekele and Sanya Richards Getty Images)
Answer:Yelena Isinbayeva, Kenenisa Bekele and Sanya Richards
523. Who is the new Brand Ambassador of popular Levis Jeans?Priyanka Chopra.
524. U.S.President Barack Obama’s adviser and an administration official specializing in environmentally friendly “green jobs” with the White House Council on Environmental Quality who resigned amid controversy over past inflammatory statements?
(Photo:Carlos) Van Jones
525. Who has topped the list of world’s 10 top earning cricketers compiled by Forbes magazine ?Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Indian skipper
Raking in USD 10 million, Dhoni is at the top of the chart followed by Tendulkar at the second spot with earnings worth USD 8 million in the list of ‘The World’s Top-Earning Cricketers’ . While Yuvraj Singh and Dravid are at the third and fourth spot, respectively, Ganguly and Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting share the sixth place.
526. Former Chief Minister of Punjab and former governor of Haryana and Orissa , who died recently after a prolonged illness?Harcharan Singh Brar
527. Recently India and US have signed a pact on ?
Atomic energy
528. Who has become the second Indian after Geet Sethi to win the World’s Billiards Championship?Pankaj Advani
He beat defending champion Mark Russel 2030-1253 to win the World Professional Billiards Championship-2009. Geet Sethi won the title in 1992.
529. Australian Cricket player who retired from international Twenty20 cricket recently?Ricky Ponting
530. The first African country to qualify for the 2010 World Cup Football which is to be held in South Africa?Ghana
531. Which country leads world in foreign weapons sales in the year 2008?United States of America. America accounted for more than two-thirds of foreign weapons sales in 2008.
532. Who participated as the chief guest at the 19th Independence Day celebrations of Tajikistan which was held at Dushanbe?Pratibha Patil, President of India
533. Reserve Bank recently decided to introduce polymer banknotes of which denomination whose life span would be 4 times the normal currency notes and would be difficult to imitate.?Rs 10
Polymer notes were first introduced in Australia to safeguard against counterfeiting of currency
534. The Sri Lankan government has ordered a senior United Nations diplomat to leave the country after accusing him of partiality towards the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Name of that spoke person of UNICEF?James Elder, an Australian national.
535. Woman journalist of Sudan convicted of public indecency for wearing trousers outdoors was freed recently despite her own desire to serve a month in prison as protest against Sudan’s draconian morality laws?
Lubna Hussein
536. Name of the Buddha statue gifted by Mahatma Gandhi to one of his Irish friend, which was sold in London in the auction for Rs 5.47 lakh (6,840 pounds)?Bodhisattva.
The statue was possibly of the Bodhisattva of compassion Avalokitesvara, a seated 13-inch-high bronze Buddha statue.
Gandhiji gave this statue to his Irish friend Emma Harker when she volunteered for relief work among the poor in flooded areas of Bihar and Orissa.
537. Who was the captain of Indian team for the 23rd FIBA Asia Women Basketball Championship held in Chennai?
Geethu Anna Jose
538. Venezuela recognized the independence of two countries on September 10, 2009. Name that countries.South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Earlier, Russia and Nicaragua also recognized independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
539. New York Governor David Paterson recently signed into law a bill that bans use of a word in documents used by state agencies, public authorities and municipalities when referring to persons of Asian or Pacific islander heritage.
Which word?“Oriental”
540. Indian Musician who has been invited to perform live along with the famous Pussycat Dolls — a pop girl group and dance ensemble- on the occasion of the India’s historic participation in the America’s world famous Polo Cup?A.R.Rahman
541. Former Taiwan President who has been found guilty of corruption and sentenced to life in prison?Chen Shui-bian
542. Indian film which is included in the “Festival of festival” section in the Cairo International film festival that will commence on the tenth of November?Raman. The film is directed by Dr.Biju.
543. Which footballer won the annual VP Sathyan Memorial Award?Mohanraj
Chennai-based, Kerala Sports Persons Association (KESPA) has picked Tamil Nadu footballer Mohanraj for this award.
544. Former president of BCCI who served as the chairman of the national selection committee (including when Sachin Tendulkar was first picked in the Indian team in 1989) died at the age of 73 following a prolonged illness recently?Raj Singh Dungarpur
545. High Court Lawyer, who has been appointed Assistant Solicitor General of India for conducting Central government cases other than the cases of income tax and the Railway Department before the High Court?T.P.M. Ibrahim Khan
546. An island of Mexico which was clearly visible on national and international maps until the middle of the 20th century has gone missing now?Bermeja Island. This island is strategically important as it could give Mexico a claim to millions of dollars worth of oil deposits.
547. Cuban revolutionary leader, who has died in Havana at the age of 82, had been among only three surviving rebel leaders who still bore the honorary title “Commander of the Revolution.”Juan Almeida Bosque
548. World’s oldest person, a woman who was born in 1894 died in California at the age of 115 gained a measure of fame when she voted for Barack Obama for U.S. president?Gertrude Baines
549. Which country will host the 6th SAF football matches scheduled for December 1-15 of this year?Bangladesh. Eight teams of South Asian countries will take part in these matches.
550. First Indian to reach semi-finals of World Boxing Championships and fist Indian to win a medal in the same event?Vijender Kumar
He won Bronze medal in the World Boxing Championships and becomes the first Indian to do so.
551. Which club won their maiden IFA Shield football tournament title?
Churchill Brothers, Goa
They beating local giant Mohun Bagan 2-0
552. Nat West One day cricket series between England and Australia won by ?Australia. They won the series 6-1.
553. Who has been selected for this year’s Mathrubhumi Literary Award of Rs.2 Lakhs instituted by the Malayalam daily “Mathrubhumi”?Kovilan
554. Name of the 14-year-old astrophysicist from Kozhikode, Kerala who recently participated in the NASA space camp where a model rocket designed by her was launched?
Hannan Binth Hashim.
She has prepared a research paper titled ‘Absolute Theory of Zero’ which questions the accuracy of many existing theories like Albert Einstein’s ‘Theory of relativity’ and the ‘Big Bang Theory’.
555. An American agronomist, humanitarian, and Nobel laureate who has been deemed the father of the Green Revolution died at the age of 95, on September 12, 2009?
Norman Borlaug.
He was one of only six people to have won the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. He was also a recipient of the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian honor.
556. Which film won the Golden Lion for best picture at the Venice film festival?“Lebanon”
Hard-hitting Israeli war movie “Lebanon” is directed by Samuel Maoz
Best Actor Award: Colin Firth
Best Actress Award: Ksenia Rappoport
557. Who won the Silver Lion prize for best director at the Venice film festival?Shirin Neshat
She won this award for the film “Women without Men,” based on a banned book about Iran in the 1950s.
558. ‘Basava Sri’ award instituted by Murugha mutt won by ?P.T.Usha.
559. Noted football commentator who was found dead in his hotel a day after the final of the IFA Shield?Noel De Lima Leitao
560. French photographer who was one of France’s giants of photography, particularly famous for his images of post-war Paris in the 1940s and 1950s died recently at the age of 99?Willy Ronis
561. Who has been named as one of the two Anglo Indian nominees to the Lok Sabha — taking Kerala’s strength in the Lower House of the Indian Parliament to 21?Charles Dias.
562. Which country won the tri-nation Compaq Cup (One Day Cricket Series) held in Sri Lanka?India.
India beat Sri Lanka in the final by 46 runs. New Zealand was the third team.
Sachin Tendulkar won Man of the Match Award for his 138 runs in final.
Man of the Series: Sachin Tendulkar
563. Who is appointed as the Managing Director of Agri co-operative National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (NAFED)?C V Ananda Bose
564. The India Today Group has recently adjudged which state of India as the best State with regard to the law and order situation.Kerala
565. Who won US Open Men’s Double Title?Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy
They won the Grand Slam title after defeating Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles in the US Open men’s doubles final. This is 10th Grant slam title for Leander Paes.
567. Who won the US Open Women’s title 2009?Kim Clijsters
She beat 19-year-old Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, 7-5, 6-3, in the final.
She become the first unseeded woman to win the US Open and the first mother to win a major title since 1980.
568. Who Clinch US Open Women’s Doubles Title?Serena Williams and Venus Williams
They took over top seeds Cara Black of Zimbabwe and Liezel Huber of the United States in straight sets of 6-2, 6-2 to clinch the women’s doubles title at US Open.
569. Who won US Open men’s title?Juan Martin del Potro
Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina battled back to beat five-times champion Roger Federer 3-6, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6, 6-2 in the final
570. A juror in the fashion designer Anand Jon rape trial who was fined $1,000 and sentenced to 120 hours of community service for trying to strike up a romance with Sanjana, the sister of Anand Jon who was sentenced to 59 years?Alvin Dymally
571. Who has been selected by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) to head the operations of the organisation as the Chairman for the period of 2009-10?Mr Subroto Chattopadhyay
572. Name of the Olympic medal-winning boxer who has been found dead by his manager?Darren Sutherland
Sutherland has won a bronze medal for Ireland at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
573. Who will be the chairman of the Fourth Finance Commission constituted by the Government of Kerala?Dr.M.A.Umman
574. Name of the sacred food offered to devotees at the Lord Venkateswara Temple in Andhra Pradesh which has been awarded geographical copyright that bars others from naming or marketing the sweetmeat preparation under the same name?Tirupati laddoo
575. Name of the most expensive bike so far launched in India by the Japanese bike giant Yamaha?
Yamaha VMAX
This 1,680cc super bike VMAX, priced at Rs. 20 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).
576. Person from Kerala who has been honored with the highest award of Bharat Scouts and Guides ‘Silver Elephant Award 2007-08’.?Shri M. C. Ramadas
577. Who is named as Japan’s new Prime Minister ?Yukio Hatoyama. He will be named the 93rd Prime Minister of Japan.
578. Indonesia’s most wanted Islamist militant, who was killed in a police shoot-out in Central Java of Indonesia ?Noordin Mohammad Top.
579. Who is now officially the tallest man walking the planet by the Guinness World Records?
(REUTERS Andrew Winning)
Sultan Kosen 27, from Turkey was recognized as the tallest person(8 foot 1 inch (2.47 meter)) in the world on September 17,2009.
580. Who is the new Accountant General of Kerala State?Maha Lekshmi Menon
581. Indian American technocrat who has been appointed by U.S.President Barack Obama to a key administration post dealing with energy research?Arun Majumdar
582. Footballer of Argentina who signed a two-year contract extension with Barcelona until the summer of 2016?
Lionel Messi
583. The Indians who have figured in a list of 60 “most influential foreigners” who have played a profound role in shaping the way over 1.2-billion people of modern China think and live?Jawaharlal Nehru and Rabindranath Tagore
584. Which TV series won the 2009 Emmy award for best comedy?30 Rock.
585. Which TV series won the 2009 Emmy award for best drama?Mad Men
586. Who is the new captain of Delhi Dare Devils Team ?Gautham Gambhir
587. The Indian tennis star who has confirmed Indian team berth in the Davis Cup World Group after he ousted South Africa’s Rik Voest in the reverse singles match of the Davis Cup tie ?Somdev Dewarman
Indian team has made into World Group playoff after a long period of 11 years.
588. Name of 13-year-old girl from Lucknow who addressed the United Nations Climate Change Summit in New York?Yugratna Srivastav
589. Who are the winners of Durand Cup-2009?Churchill Brothers. They beat Mohun Bagan in the final. Churchill Brothers had earlier won the trophy in 2007
590. Name of Indian-origin woman who was sentenced to 33 years in jail – one of the longest jail terms handed out to a woman in Britain – for murdering her two teenaged daughters in a frenzied knife attack at her home in Cambridgeshire?Rekha Kumari-Baker
591. The 63-year-old magazine, which has covered business and politics since World War II, will shut down in December 2009, struggling with losses as readers and advertisers move to the Internet?“Far Eastern Economic Review”
592. Name of India’s 16th remote sensing satellite successfully launched by ISRO through its space carrier Plar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) in just twenty minutes?Oceansat-2.
ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C14 successfully launched the 960 kg Indian remote sensing satellite Oceansat-2 and six nano satellites for international customers into a polar Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO). This was the fifteenth successful flight of PSLV.
593. Who has been selected for this year’s Vallathol Award which carries a purse of Rs.1,11,111 and citation?Kavalam Narayana Panicker
594. The much anticipated small car for India which was unveiled in Delhi by Ford Motor Company?Ford Figo
595. Who is the new director of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, (UNESCO)?
Irina Bokova, Bulgarian diplomat
596. The adventurers who set a new world record after successfully landing on Mount Everest 16,800 ft above sea level?Ramesh Chandra Tripathi, Leo Dickinson and Ralph Mitchell.
They jumped from an altitude of 20,000 ft to land at the world’s highest drop zone, near Mount Everest.
597. A prominent Indian American agricultural scientist, who has been nominated for the post of the Chief Agricultural Negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative by the US President Barack Obama?Islam A. Siddiqui
598. India’s maiden spacecraft, which has discovered water on the lunar surface?Chandrayaan-1
599. First mixed-gender university of Saudi Arabia which opened recently?King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)
600. Who is the chairman of Subordinate Legislation Committee of Indian Loksabha?P.Karunakaran , M.P from Kerala
601. Which country won the 23rd Asian Women’s Basketball Championships held in Chennai, India?China. They beat South Korea in the final
602. Indian who won bronze medal in the freestyle 74 kg category in the prestigious World Wrestling Championship held in Denmark?Ramesh Kumar
India made history in wrestling after a gap of 32 years, when Ramesh Kumar won bronze medal in World Wrestling Championship.
603. Who was elected president of the Indian Newspaper Society for 2009-10, at the 70th annual general meeting of the INS?T. Venkattram Reddy. He is the chairman of the Hyderabad-based Deccan Chronicle.
604. Who will head the Committee of Privileges which has been reconstituted by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar?P.C.Chacko, M.P.from Kerala
605. Britain’s Indian-origin Business Minister, who is set to step down, appointed as the UK’s representative to G-20?Shriti Vadera
606. Who was elected as regional chairman (Kerala)of the Indian Newspaper Society for 2009-10?P.V.chandran
607. Which political party retained power in Portuguese elections recently ?Center-left Socialist Party.
Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates is the main leader of this party.
608. German Chancellor who recorded a resounding triumph in her country’s recent general elections?Angela Merkel
609. Indian-American Human rights activist who has won the American Courage Award for her human rights work in India and the United States?Mallika Dutt
610. Name of the limited-series pen by Pen-makers Mont Blanc inspired by Gandhiji’s iconic Dandi March in 1930 to protest against the British salt tax ?Mahatma Gandhi Limited Edition-241 series (MGLE-241)
This pen costs Rs 11.39 lakh.
611. Who won the women’s singles title in the Yonex Czech international badminton championship?Trupti Murgunde

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

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.
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
816. Man of the Match of third ODI between Pakistan and New Zealand held in Abudabi on November 9, 2009?Mohammad Aamer (Pakistan). He made 73 runs and took two wickets.
New Zealand won the match by 7 runs. They also won the 3-match series 2-1.
817. Who won India’s first medal in the 18th Asian Athletics Championships held in Guangzhou?Kavita Raut. She won a bronze in women’s 500m race on the opening day of the 18th Asian Athletics Championship
818. Which bank has won the ‘Great Mind Challenge’ Award for implementing the most innovative solution for business?Federal Bank. Federal Bank is the first bank in the country to receive this award and the award has been introduced by IBM for the first time in India for business development initiatives.
819. India’s first Aerospace SEZ (Special Economic Zone) launched in?Belgaum, Karnataka. Aerospace and engineering major QuEST Global launched the country’s first aerospace Special Economic Zone for development and manufacture of aerospace precision engineering products.
820. Which documentary has been selected for the Recycling Fond award at the 36th International Festival of Sustainable Development Films-ekotopfilm 2009?‘Farming our Future’ Direction: Venu Nair
821. Who has been appointed Pakistan captain for the Test tour of New Zealand?Mohammad Yousuf
Vice Captain: Kamran Akmal
822. Who won India’s first Gold medal in the 18th Asian Athletics Championships held in Guangzhou?Om Prakash Singh. He won the men’s shot put gold for India.
823. Goalkeeper of Germany who committed suicide by stepping in front of a train in Hanover?
Robert Enke
824. The sniper whose murderous shooting spree in the fall of 2002 left at least 10 dead in Washington, was executed by lethal injection at a Virginia state prison?John Allen Muhammad
825. Who is appointed as the head of United States Agency for International Development?
Rajiv Shaw
826. Who has been chosen for this year’s K.R. Narayanan Award?N.Ram, Editor-in-Chief of Hindu.
He has won this award for his outstanding contribution to journalism in India. Instituted by the K.R. Narayanan Foundation in memory of the late President, the award is to honour individuals who have excelled in various fields.
827. Who has been selected for the K. R. Narayanan Pravasi Ratna award?M. A. Yusuf Ali, UAE-based industrialist won this award for his contribution to the cause of NRIs.
K. R. Narayanan Kala Puraskaram award went to Malayalam film ‘Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja’
828. Most-wanted cocaine kingpin of Mexico who had been ranked by Forbes magazine as one of the most powerful people in the world.Joaquin Guzman. He ranked 41 on Forbes’ ‘powerful’ list.
829. A Michael Jackson portrait has sold for $812,000 (£507,500) at an auction in Los Angeles. The artist of that portrait is?Andy Warhol
830. Sri Lanka’s armed forces chief who has resigned from his post just months after helping secure the defeat of the Tamil Tiger rebels?Gen Sarath Fonseka
831. Who has been selected for Ezhuthachan puraskaram-2009, highest literary honour of Kerala State?Sugathakumari. She is a renowned poet and social activist. She has won this award for her valuable contribution to Malayalam poetry.
832. Who has been named captain of the Indian hockey team for the FIH Men’s Champions Challenge tournament in Salta, Argentina?Rajpal Singh. The tournament will take place from December 6 to 13.
833. The Video game collected $550 million in 5 days, which has beaten largest worldwide box-office opening, held by “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” which tallied $394 million over its first five days?
“Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2″
834. Who was sworn as the first Punjabi-American (Sikh) mayor of Yuba City in U.S.A?Kashmir Singh Gill
Yuba City is known as the first Punjabi village in U.S.A
835. Which country leads medals in the 18th Asian Athletics Championships held in Guangzhou, China in 2009?China (47 Medals, 18 Gold, 19 Silver, 10 Bronze)
India occupies the sixth position(12 Medals, 1 gold, 4 Silver, 7 bronze).
47 Nations participated in the event.
836. The country which have reached the World Cup finals for the second time in their history with victory over Bahrain in their qualifying play-off?New Zealand
837. Who is the Man of the series of the 20-20 series between Pakistan and New Zealand held in Dubai?Shahid Afridi. Pakistan won the series 2-0.
838. Who has clinched the Australian Masters Golf Title held in Melbourne?Tiger Woods
839. Which country chosen as host for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings held from February to November 2009?Singapore
840. The 2011 meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) will be held in?Honolulu
841. National junior athletics championships from November 20 to 24 held in?Warangal, Andrapradesh
842. What is the highest score of India in a test cricket match on a single day?443/1 in the second day of the third test match against Sri Lanka in Mumbai.
843. Which country won FIFA Under-17 World Cup?Switzerland. They defeated hosts and defending champions Nigeria 1-0 in the final.
844. Who became the second Indian to complete 11,000 Test runs in the recent test match against Sri Lanka?Rahul Dravid.
845. Who is appointed as the chief of Defence Staff of Sri Lanka?Roshan Gunathilleke
846. Who is appointed as Australia’s batting coach for the upcoming cricket season?Justin Langer
847. President of India, Pratibha Patil recently nominated five noted personalities to Rajya Sabha. Who are they?1.HK Dua, Eminent journalist.
2.AK Ganguly, Former Chairman of Hindustan Lever Limited.These two will replace Film Actor Hema Malini and Journalist Chandan Mitra, whose term has come to an end.
3. Javed Akhtar, Lyricist and poet
4. Prof CNR Rao (Chairman of the scientific advisory council to the PM)
5. G Madhavan Nair, Former ISRO chairman.
848. Which Consumer electronics and durables major recently announced the inauguration of its split air-conditioner manufacturing line at its Sriperumbudur facility?Samsung.
The AC manufacturing unit in India is the fifth in the world for Samsung.
849. According to the Open Doors 2009 report, which country has sent more than one lakh students to USA for the academic year 2008-09?India.
India retained its position as the top place of origin for international students in the US.
China remained in second place.
850. Which District panchayats of Kerala have won the ‘Nirmal Grama Puraskaram’ instituted by the Union government for their efforts in maintaining high level of public hygiene?Alappuzha and Pathnamthitta
851. Who becomes first Sri Lankan player to score a century in India since 1997?Tilakaratne Dilshan
852. Ace straw picture craftsman from India who has been invited to take part in the five day Mode Heim Handwerk fair at Munich from November 25?Kiran Rajendran. This is the first time that straw pictures from India will get the opportunity to be displayed in an international gallery.
853. The 11th International Meeting of the Communist and Workers Parties jointly hosted by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and the Communist Party of India (CPI) took place in?New Delhi.
Communist leaders from around the world met there on November 20-22, 2009 to discuss how to ‘intensify popular struggles’
854. One of Iraq’s vice presidents who vetoed the country’s new election law recently, throwing into fresh doubt the feasibility of holding crucial national balloting in January ?Tariq Hashimi. Iraq has two vice Presidents: Adil Abd Al-Mahdi and Tariq Hashimi.
855. Sri Lankan player who scored a classy double century in the first test match against India in Ahmedabad?Mahela Jayawardhene He scored 275 runs and it was his sixth double century.
He won the Man of the match Award of that match.
106. Who has been declared elected in the presidential elections of Afghanistan, which was held on 20th August, this year?
Hameed Karzai
857. Who has been chosen for the prestigious Indira Gandhi Prize of 2009 for Peace, Disarmament and Development?Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh Prime Minister.
858. The 32 teams qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Football:South Africa (Host), Ghana, Ivory Coast, Japan, Australia, South Korea, North Korea, England, Netherlands, Spain, Serbia, Italy, Denmark, Germany, Brazil, Paraguay, Chile, United States, Mexico , Switzerland, Slovakia, Argentina, Honduras , New Zealand, Nigeria, Cameroon, Algeria, Greece, Slovenia, Portugal, France, Uruguay.
859. Who won the first Maliyama Foundation Award?Irom Sharmila The award will be given to her for her crusade against human rights violations and for repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958.
860. The 1,500m champion of Beijing Olympics-2008, who has been stripped of his gold medal after a failed drugs test.Rashid Ramzi. The Moroccan-born runner who competes internationally for Bahrain was the only gold medalist from Beijing caught using performance-enhancing drugs
861. Who is the richest man in India with USD 32 billion in net worth followed by steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal and Anil Ambani, according to the Forbes annual rich list for the country?Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Industries Chairman.
862. Which Indian film has bagged five awards at the South Asian International Film Festival held in New York?‘Manjaadikkuru’. The Malayalam film bagged five awards including the ones for Best Film, Best Direction, Best Script, Best Cinematography and Best Debutante Talent. The film is directed by Anjali Menon
863. Who has chosen as first full-time president of European Union?
Photo:AP
Herman Van Rompuy, Belgian Prime Minister
864. The cricketer who has reached the milestone in his career by completing a phenomenal 30,000 runs in international cricket during the Test against Sri Lanka?
Sachin Tendulkar. He became the first batsman to complete 30,000 international runs when he scored his 35th run in the second innings against Sri Lanka. He slammed his 43rd Test century in that match.
865. Which country won women’s team title in the 19th Asian Table Tennis Championships held in Lucknow?China. The beat Singapore 3-1 in the final while host India finished seventh.
866. Who has been named as High Representative (Chief) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of European Union?Catherine Ashton, Britain
867. Which team won their second successive Russian Premier League title?Rubin Kazan
868. Two Pakistani men accused of providing logistical support for last year’s deadly terror attacks in Mumbai, India, were arrested in Italy. Name of that terrorists?Mohammad Yaqub Janjua and Aamer Yaqub Janjua
869. Which state of India won the national Junior Athletics Championship held at Warangal for the 13th consecutive time?Kerala.
870. Constitution bench to consider the Mullaperiyar dam dispute between Tamil Nadu and Kerala has been formed recently. The bench consists of?The five-judge bench would be presided by Justice DK Jain. Justice Mukundakam Sharma, RM Lodha, D Sudharshan Reddy and Deepak Varma would be the other members.
871. Who has been named as the Secretary of the International Monetary Fund by its Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn?Siddharth Tiwari, Indian economist.
872. Which is the inaugural film of the 40th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Panaji, Goa, on Nov 23, 2009?“Wheat”, Chinese historical drama was the inaugural film.
873. Who is the Man of the match of the second ODI between South Africa and England at Super Sport Park, Centurion on 22-11-2009?Paul Collingwood. He scored unbeaten 105 after took two wickets and held a superb catch as England beat South Africa by 7-wickets.
874. Which state crowned champions in the 55th National School Games held in Amritsar?Kerala. Kerala won 76 medals, including 28 gold, 28 silver and 19 bronze.
Hosts Punjab came second in the medal tally with 24 gold medals and 10 bronze.
875. A long-running inquiry commissioned by the Indian government to investigate the destruction of the disputed structure Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in 1992. In November 2009, a day after a newspaper published the allegedly leaked contents of the report, the report was tabled in the Indian parliament by the Home Minister, P. Chidambaram. Name of that commission?Liberhan Commission
876. Who has been crowned Miss Earth 2009 which was held on November 22 at the Boracay beach resort in Aklan province, central Philippines?Larissa Ramos, Nineteen-year-old Brazilian beauty.
877. Who is the Brand Ambassador of Kerala Hockey?Suresh Gopi, Malyalam Superstar.
878. Which athletes were crowned as the Male and Female World Athletes of the Year 2009 by International Athletic Foundation (IAF)?Usain Bolt, Jamaica
Sanya Richard, USA
879. India’s nuclear-capable intermediate range and surface-to-surface missile which was test—fired for the first time on 23rd of Novmber-2009?Agni II
880. Who won the Artist of the Year Award at the 37th American Music Awards (AMAs) beating out Michael Jackson?Taylor Swift. She won five awards while Jackson got 4 awards.
881. Who was the oldest person to ever climb Mt Everest?Min Bahadur Sherchan, 78 years old became the oldest person to conquer the world’s highest peak
882. China executed two people recently for their roles in a tainted milk powder scandal in which at least six children died and more than 300,000 became sick. Who are they?Zhang Yujun and Geng Jinping.
Zhang Yujun was executed for endangering public safety and Geng Jinping was executed for producing and selling toxic food
883. Who has taken over as General Manager, Southern Railway on 21st November 2009?Shri Deepak Krishan
884. Secretary Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs who is appointed as Secretary of Ministry of Shipping?K Mohandas.
885. SEBI (Stock Exchange Board of India )has served an amended notice to a major Indian company asking why it shouldn’t be barred from accessing the stock markets under the rules on fraudulent and unfair trade practices and the gains it made of Rs.513 crore not be disgorged. Which is that company?Reliance Industries (RIL). SEBI has issued an amended notice to Mukesh Ambani-led RIL on insider trading.
886. Who became the first woman president to fly in a fighter jet, the Sukhoi-30MKI of the Indian Air Force?Pratibha Patil, Indian President
887. Prosecutors in the genocide trial of a former Khmer Rouge prison chief demanded a 40-year jail sentence recently for a man they described as responsible for snuffing out innocent lives and spreading terror across Cambodia. Name of that Jail Chief?Kaing Guek Eav. He is also known as Duch (pronounced DOIK) oversaw the torture and execution of about 16,000 men, women and children during the Khmer Rouge’s 1975-79 rule. Some 1.7 million Cambodians died of torture, execution, disease and starvation under the Khmer Rouge.
The Khmer Rouge was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, the totalitarian ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan.
888. Iran’s best-selling newspaper, which has been banned for publishing a picture of a temple belonging to the outlawed Bahai sect.?Hamshahri.
889. Who became the fourth highest run getter in Test cricket, surpassing former Australian captain, Allan Border?Rahul Dravid. Border took 156 Tests to reach 11,174 Test runs at an average of 50.56. Dravid reached 11182 runs in 136 Tests at an average of 53.50,
Tendulkar – 161 matches – 12917 runs – average of 54.76
Lara -131 matches – 11953 runs – average of 52.88
Ponting – 136 matches – 11345 runs – average of 55.88
890. Who has been appointed as chairman of Atomic Energy Commission of India?Srikumar Banerjee. He is a leading expert in Materials and Technology in the country and director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)
891. The son of a Philippines clan boss who was charged with murder recently after the massacre of at least 57 people in last week of November-2009?Andal Ampatuan Jr, a local mayor in Maguindanao province.
892. The United States of America has reached an agreement to station an American antimissile defense system on a country in Central Europe recently. Which is that country?Poland.
United States and Poland have agreed terms for stationing US troops in Poland so that the deployment of US Patriot missiles can start next year.
893. The search engine which apologized recently for results of image search of ‘Michelle Obama’, first lady of U.S.?Google.
In November, when someone typed “Michelle Obama” in the popular search engine Google, one of the first images that came up was a picture of the American first lady altered to resemble a monkey.
894. Pakistan player who hits century on debut in the first test match against New Zealand in Dunedin?Umar Akmal, a blistering 129 (160b, 21×4, 2×6) on debut. He won the Man of the Match award, but Pakistan lost that match by 32 runs.
895. The French Parliament has unanimously adopted the civil nuclear agreement with an Asian Country. Which is that country?India.
896. Which car has been ranked No. 1 in the mid-size entry segment (228 PP/100), according to the 2009 J.D. Power Asia Pacific India Vehicle Dependability Study released recently?Ford Ikon
897. Who was awarded the man of the match in the second test match between India and Sri Lanka played at Kanpur?Sreesanth. He was declared Man of the Match for his 6 wicket haul.
India beat Sri Lanka by an innings and 144 runs in that match and it was India’s 100th test win in all, their first being way back in 1952 against England.
898. Former Indian Volleyball team captain who has been selected for the 21st Jimmy George Foundation award, 2009, for his contributions to sports?Tom Joseph
899. Iranian authorities have confiscated the Nobel Peace Prize medal awarded to Iranian lawyer-activist in 2003 for her work as a lawyer and human rights activist. Name of that Nobel laureate?Shirin Ebadi
900. The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), leaders from 51 Commonwealth countries began a three-day summit started on November 27, 2009, held in?Port of Spain
901. Which country n launched its fifth spy satellite on 28th November 2009 in a bid to boost its ability to independently gather intelligence?China
902. Which company has been awarded the 2009 CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) National Award for Energy Efficient Unit?Piramal Healthcare’s Digwal, India, manufacturing division.
903. Who was awarded the man of the match in the first test match between Australia and West Indies played at Brisbane?Ben Hilfenhaus. This Australian bowler took 3 wickets in the first innings and claimed two in the second innings. Australia beat West Indies by an innings and 65 runs.
904. Who becomes the youngest West Indian to score a Test century on debut?Adrian Barath At just 19 years and 228 days, Barath became the seventh youngest batsman in Test history to post a century on debut. He had scored 104 of West Indies’ total of 154 in the second innings.
905. Who was adjudged Man of the Match in the third ODI between South Africa and England played at Cape Town on November 27, 2009?AB de Villiers (South Africa). He scored 121 off 85 balls and South Africa won the match by 112 runs.
906. Which Indian city will be the venue of the 97th Indian Science Congress?Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
96th Indian Science Congress held at NEHU in Shillong, Meghalaya.
907. In November 2009, more than 50 employees of a nuclear plant of India were affected due to high radiation levels. A water cooler for supplying water for the employees was contaminated with tritiated water. Where is that nuclear plant?Kaiga nuclear power station situated at Kaiga in Uttar Kannada district in Karnataka, India.
908. The African nation which has been admitted into the Commonwealth of Nations, becoming the 54th member of the organization of mostly former British colonies?Rwanda
909. Who was adjudged Man of the Match in the fourth ODI between South Africa and England played at Port Elizabeth on November 29, 2009?James Anderson (England). He took five wickets and England won the match by 7 wickets.
910. Which country decided to sign civil nuclear deal with India recently?Canada. India and Canada have agreed on a civil nuclear deal that will enable New Delhi to access Canadian nuclear technology and uranium after a gap of 34 years. The deal is likely to be signed when Manmohan Singh goes to Canada to attend the G20 summit in June, 2010.
911. Chief of Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) who was sent to jail for 14 days after his arrest in Andhra Pradesh’s Karimnagar district before he could begin his “fast unto death” for a separate Telangana state?K Chandrasekhara Rao.
912. Whop will be the new partner of Mahesh Bhupathi in doubles for the next tennis season?
Max Mirnyi of Belarus. Bhupathi and Mirnyi had enjoyed a successful partnership in the past when the two won the 2002 US Open and also reached the Wimbledon final in 2003. Mark Knowles was his earlier partner which ended in the semifinals of the ATP World Tour Finals.