GK and Current Affairs Updates

History professor and political newcomer Gudni Johannesson (48) has won the 2016 Presidential election in Iceland. 
•    He will succeed Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, who served as President of Iceland for 20 years i.e. four five year terms as the head of state. 
•    In the 2016 Presidential election, as an independent Gudni Johannesson was able to secure 39.1% votes. 
•    He defeated Halla Tomasdottir, a businesswoman without party affiliation, who was able to secure 27.9% votes. 
•    While David the former conservative party Prime Minister and Central Bank Governor David Oddsson was placed third and he won just 13% votes.
•    Gudni Johannesson is historian and lecturer at the University of Iceland, Bifrost University and University of London. 
•    He is the son of teacher and journalist Margrét Thorlacius and sports instructor Jóhannes Sæmundsson.
•    His brother Patrekur Jóhannesson is a former Icelandic handball national team player.
•    He has also studied German and Russian at a university level.
•    In 1999, he completed an MSt degree in history from the University of Oxford.
•    In 2003 he received a PhD in history from Queen Mary, University of London.

Nagaland Governor PB Acharya launched a women helpline – 181 in the premises of the District Hospital, Dimapur and also inaugurated Sakhi- One stop Centre, an institute indented to support women affected by violence.
•    “Sakhi-One Stop Centre” is a centrally sponsored scheme by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) to be funded through Nirbhaya Fund. 
•    The objectives of the One Stop Centers are to provide integrated support and assistance to women affected by violence, both in private and public spaces under one roof and to facilitate immediate, emergency and non-emergency access to a range of services including medical, legal, psychological and counseling support to fight against any form of violence against women. 
•    In the first phase, one centre is being established in every state on a pilot basis and the OSC will be integrated with 181 (Women Helpline) and other existing help lines. 
•    The women helpline will also provide 24 hour emergency response to all women affected by violence and information about women related government schemes and programmes across the country through a single uniform number -181.
•    He also highlighted on the multi roles played by women as home makers, guardians of children and the hard work put in by them in every field. 
•    Terming women as the living force behind the human species, Acharya reminded that domestic violence against women continued unabated and that people needed to come together to uplift women-kind as a whole. 
•    He was optimistic that problems of distressed women would be addressed through this project and also appealed to all stake holders for extending cooperation, so that violence against women would decline.

The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi released a book titled “The Birds of Banni Grassland” in New Delhi, on 28th June. 
•    The book was presented to the Prime Minister by the Scientists of Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology (GUIDE). 
•    The Book is a compilation of the research work, relating to more than 250 species of birds found in the Banni area of Kutch, Gujarat. 
•    The Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology, located at Bhuj, has been studying the plant, bird and marine life in the Rann of Kutch for over 15 years.
•    The GUIDE is located at Bhuj. 
•    For over 15 years it has been studying the plant, bird and marine life in the Rann of Kutch. GUIDE’s research activities are linked in the study of understanding and addressing environmental, ecological and social problems. 
•    It also seeks promoting sustainable development in arid and semi-arid regions of the state.

Two Indians have won the Queen's Young Leaders award in the UK for their exceptional work in transforming the lives of others and making a lasting difference in their communities.

•    Kartik Sawhney, 21, and Neha Swain, 28 from India are among 60 others who won the Queen's Young Leaders award 2016 which will be presented by the British monarch at a gala ceremony in Buckingham Palace in June next year.
•    Kartik, who was born blind, has been acknowledged for his exceptional work highlighting universal access to education for all.
•    Project STEMAccess, offers hands-on science workshops in India, as well as virtual training sessions,"
•    Neha, a youth facilitator and co-founder of NGO Rubaroo provides an inclusive space for young people, irrespective of their socio-economic background, to develop their leadership skills through interactive workshops.
•    Her team provides workshops to schools in India free of charge and has so far worked with nearly 2,000 young people in the city of Hyderabad.
•    Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust present the award to recognise young people from across the 53 countries of the Commonwealth who are "taking the lead in transforming the lives of others and making a lasting difference in their communities".
•    The Queen's Young Leaders Programme was established in 2014 by the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust in partnership with Comic Relief and the Royal Commonwealth Society in recognition of the Queen's lifetime of service to the Commonwealth.
•    The award does not come with any cash incentive.

Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez was named player of the tournament as Copa America Centenario champions Chile also swept the individual awards.

•    Chile beat Argentina on penalties for the second year in a row in the final on Sunday, and Sanchez was then awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player after scoring three goals and setting up two in six games.
•    His teammate Eduardo Vargas won the Golden Boot after finishing as the top scorer with six goals, while Chile goalkeeper Claudio Bravo was awarded the Golden Glove.
•    Lionel Messi, who missed his penalty in the shootout and then said he will retire from internationals.
•    Sanchez, was substituted in extra time of Sunday's final but had been crucial in getting his team that far.
•    He scored twice in a must-win game against Panama that sent Chile through to the knockout stages, then had one goal and two assists in a 7-0 thrashing of Mexico in the quarterfinals.
•    Bravo did not concede a goal in the knockout stages of the tournament, and denied Argentina's Lucas Biglia with a crucial save in the penalty shootout.

Beyonce and Drake were the big winners at the 2016 BET Awards.
•    Beyonce, who opened the show Sunday alongside Kendrick Lamar for a fiery performance of "Freedom," led all other artists taking home four awards out of five nominations including Best Female R&B/Pop Artist, Video of the Year for "Formation" and the Coca-Cola Viewers Choice Award.
•    Beyonce's mother, Tina Knowles, accepted the awards on the singer's behalf as she left the awards show following her performance to start her upcoming international tour.
•    The night's other big winner was Drake, who won three awards out a of dominating nine nominations. The rapper was honored with trophies for Best Male Hip-Hop artist, Best Group with Future and Best Collaboration for this featured verse on Rihana’s hit single "Work."
•    Behind Beyonce and Drake was newcomer Bryson Tiller making a name for himself winning two awards that included Best Male R&B/Pop Artist and Best New Artist. Tiller also performed his hit "Don't" onstage.

Veteran Malayalam theatre artist and poet Kavalam Narayana Panicker passed away on 26 June 2016 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. He was 88.

•    Born on 28 April 1928, Panicker attended CMS College in Kottayam.
•    He obtained a degree in Economics from S D College, Alappuzha and later a Bachelor of Law degree from Madras Law College.
•    He started his career as a lawyer in 1955.
•    In 1961, he was nominated as Secretary of Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi.
•    He has written over 26 Malayalam plays, many adapted from classical Sanskrit drama and Shakespeare.
•    In 1993, Erin B. Mee directed his play Ottayan in New York City.
•    His notable works are Madhyamavyayogam, Kalidasa's Vikramorvasiyam, Shakuntalam, Karnabharam, Bhasa's Uru Bhangam, Swapnavasavadattam and Dootavakyam.
•    He also directed two movies, Mani Madhava Chakyar: The Master at Work, and Parvati Viraham in Kuttiyattam form. Kuttiyattam is a form of Sanskrit theatre.
•    In 1983, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in Direction.
•    In 2002, he was honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship.
•    He was awarded with the Padma Bhushan in 2007.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed here between the Rural Development Ministry and ISRO, Department of Space for geo-tagging the assets created under MGNREGA in each gram panchayat. 
•    The move comes after the Prime Minister during a review meeting recently had underlined for online recording and monitoring of assets to check leakages and for effective mapping of terrain for future developmental works. 
•    Around 30 lakh assets are created annually across the country under the rural job scheme and the Ministry has decided that through convergence with other schemes, the geo-tagging of such assets will be done on a mission mode. 
•    Speaking on the occasion, Secretary, Rural Development, Shri J.S.Mathur said that through Bhuvan Mobile Platform, completed asset will be Geo-tagged along with photograph by Gram Rozgar Sahayak or Junior engineer. 
•    Application of technology for rural development will go a great way in planning and execution of projects in a transparent manner. 
•    Space technology is increasingly being used up to the grassroots level for not only visualisation of the assets but also for terrain mapping to undertake other developmental works like watershed and drought-proofing measures.

Chile on 26 June 2016 won the Copa America football tournament. In the final clash played at MetLife Stadium, Chile defeated Argentina 4-2 through penalties shootout.
•    This was second America title for Chile, it won the first title in 2015 after defeating Argentina 4-1 in a penalty shootout following a 0-0 scoreless draw at the end of regulation.
•    With this, Chile also became the first team to win the Copa America in back to back years since Argentina in 1946 and 1947.
•    Being deadlocked 0-0 after 90 minutes and another half an hour extra time in the match, the two teams were supposed to opt for penalty shootout.
•    Besides the Copa trophy, there were other awards to recognise both individuals and teams, and the winners in different categories are
•    Golden Ball: Alexis Sanchez (Chile)
•    Golden Boot: Eduardo Vargas (Chile)
•    Golden Glove award: Claudio Bravo (Chile)
•    Fair Play Award: Argentina
•    Goalkeeper: Claudio Bravo (Chile)
•    Defenders: Mauricio Isla (Chile), Nicolas Otamendi (Argentina), Gary Medel (Chile), Jean Beausejour (Chile)
•    Midfielders: Javier Mascherano (Argentina), Arturo Vidal (Chile), Charles Aranguiz (Chile)
•    Forwards: Lionel Messi (Argentina), Eduardo Vargas (Chile), Alexis Sanchez (Chile)
•    Copa America, formerly known as the South American Football Championship is an international men's football tournament contested between national teams from CONMEBOL and CONCACAF. It is the oldest international continental football competition.
•    The competition determines the continental champion of South America. Since the 1990s, teams from North America and Asia have also participated.

Sujoy Bose was on 27 June 2016 appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF).

•    His appointment was made by the Union Government following his selection by the Selection Committee constituted under Department Of Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das.

•    Bose has extensive international experience in the infrastructure sector, including experience in raising funds from international investors. 
•    At present, Bose works as the Director and Global Co-Head of infrastructure and natural resources at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a part of the World Bank group.
•    He has been associated with the IFC for last 24 years.
•    He holds an MBA from Rice University and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from St Xavier's College, Kolkata, India.
•    NIIF is a quasi sovereign wealth fund announced in 2015 budget with a corpus of around 40000 crore rupees.
•    NIIF was incorporated as a company under the Companies Act, 2013, duly authorized to act as investment manager.
•    It was constituted with an aim to finance the requirements of India’s infrastructure sector, mainly through foreign investment.
•    The government has already signed pacts with investors from Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Russia for the NIIF.