Smart Practice Current Affairs October 2015 [Part 8]

Places in News

Papua (Asia)

• A powerful 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck the Eastern Indonesian region of Papua on September 24, 2015.
• The undersea quake hit at a depth of 24 km from Sorong, in West Papua province. But, as per US seismology department, no tsunami warning was issued.
• Indonesia sits on the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’, where tectonic plates collide, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity. Earlier in July, 2015 a 7.0-magnitude quake rocked Papua.

Ladakh (J&K)

• The seven-day Ladakh festival started in Leh on September 20, 2015. It is organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department along with the local communities. The objective of the festival is to promote tourism and the rich culture of Leh-Ladakh.
• The festival is all about the traditional culture, music, dance, sports, handicraft etc. This festival plays a major role in promoting tourism and providing a platform for cultural exchange.
• The closing ceremony of Ladakh festival is on September 27, 2015 and the government is expecting to attract a lot of tourist during this time. The festival will include traditional craftwork, exhibition, music concerts, food festivals, sport matches etc.

Read Also – Defence & Security Current Affairs August.

Qinghai Province (China)

• A 2000-year-old lost stupa, one of the 19 built with Lord Buddha’s relics sept by Emperor Ashoka to China, has been renovated and restored on September 17, 2015 with religious rites by an Indian monk in the Tibetan town, making it a symbol of the advent of Buddhism from India to China.
• The renovated stupa and Ashoka pillar along with a huge golden statue of Buddha was consecrated by Gyalwang Drukpa, the spiritual head of Drukpa lineage of Buddhism based in Ladakh, in China’s Qinghai province; located adjacent to Tibet Autonomous Region.
• Legend has it that over 2500 years ago, Buddha’s disciples retrieved one skull bone, two scapulas, four teeth and 84000 pearl-like sariras (relics) after Lord Buddha’s body was cremated.

Illapel (Chile)

• A magnitude 8.3 earthquake hit off the coast of Chile, the capital of Choapa Province in Central Coquimbo Region of Chile on September 16, 2015.
• The capital city of Santiago saw killing of five people and damage in several coastal towns that saw flooding from small tsunami waves set off by the quake.
• US Geological Survey has noted its epicenter at a depth of 12.5 km off Chile’s coast in Illapel.
• On this occasion, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) has issued tsunami warnings for Chile, Peru and Hawaii.
• The PTWC also issued tsunami alert for waves, of between 0.3 to 1 m for Japan, Antarctica, and most of the South Pacific countries including New Zealand, Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands.

Hangzhou (China)

• The Eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou was chosen by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) to host the 2022 Asian Games on September 16, 2015. The OCA made the decision at its 34th Congress held in Ashkhabad, Turkmenistan.
• Hangzhou was the only candidate city for the 2022 Asian Games i.e., XIX edition of games. The regional games will be staged in China for the 3rd time following Beijing in 1990 and Southern Guangzhou in 2010.
• Asian Games also known as Asiad is a pan continental multi-sport event played among athletes from all over Asia. It is held every four years and regulated and organised by the OCA since 1982. It was first held in 1951 in New Delhi, India under the aegis of Asian Games Federation (AGF).

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