4th July 2016 - Important Current Affairs updates

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International Affairs

• Today (4th July) is Independence Day of United States.
• • This day commemorates  the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on 4th July 1776, by the Continental Congress declaring that the thirteen American colonies regarded themselves as a new nation, the United States of America, and no longer part of the British Empire.
• China's internet regulator today issued a directive that online media cannot publish any unverified content, especially from social media sites. 
• • The regulator also listed many fake news stories it said had recently circulated on the internet. 
  • China, which already has internet censorship laws, said this is a part of its campaign against fake news and the spreading of rumours.
• California Governor Jerry Brown has signed into law six measures which limit the purchase and possession of rifles, expand background checks and ban the possession of magazines capable of holding more than ten rounds. 
• The Pacific military exercise, RIMPAC 2016 (Rim of the Pacific Exercise), began at Hawaii with 26 nations participating in the war games that will cover the Hawaiian Island and southern California.
• • RIMPAC 2016 is the 25th exercise in the series that began in 1971.
  • Theme of RIMPAC 2016 : Capable, Adaptive, Partners 

National Affairs

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will expand his Cabinet tomorrow at 11 am in a ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. 
• • Reportedly, 76-year-old Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptulla and 75-year-old Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Kalraj Mishra might be dropped from the Cabinet.
  •  Further, BJP leaders from the poll-bound state of Uttar Pradesh are likely to be inducted in the Cabinet.
    
• The 2nd BRICS Youth Summit was concluded in Guwahati, Assam yesterday. 
• • This summit was held from 1st July 2016 to 3rd July 2016. 
  • This summit was inaugurated by Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in presence of Union Sports Minister Jitendra Singh. 
  • The three day summit had witnessed 70-member foreign delegation including ministers and head of executive authorities on youth affairs from BRICS nations. 
  • The main focus of this summit was on enhancing people-to-people contacts of BRICS member states viz. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. 
  • The summit has called for shifting of power from the West to the member countries to maintain balance in the world.
  •  It also has adopted the ‘Guwahati BRICS Youth Summit 2016 Call to Action’ and urged the youth from the five member nations to come together for working towards this goal.
  • Theme of 2016 : “Youth as bridge for intra-BRICS exchanges“. 
• The 1st meeting of the BRICS Working Group on Energy Saving and Energy Efficiency began in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. 
• • The 2 day conference will be attended by all 5 member BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries. 
  • India being BRICS chair for 2016 has organised this event in order to shape and steer the BRICS agenda. 
  • The Union Power Ministry is hosting the meeting of the Working Group.
• The Government of India is planning to impose a hefty fine on vehicle owners, dealers and manufacturers to curb the menace of excessive honking as it is one of the major contributors to sound pollution.
• Punjab Government has launched Rapid Rural Police Response System (RRPRS) to ensure prompt and effective police response in 12,000 villages across the state. 
• India’s first Commercial Court and Commercial Disputes Resolution Centre was inaugurated at Raipur, capital of Chhattisgarh.
• •  It was inaugurated by State Chief Minister Dr. Raman Singh along with Supreme Court judge Madan B. Lokur.

Deaths

• American film director, screenwriter, producer and author Michael Cimino (77) passed away.
• • He is famous for his Vietnam War classic, the academy award winning film The Deer Hunter (1978).

Awards & Honors

• According to data by the Tourism Ministry, Tamil Nadu was the top tourist destination in India for the second consecutive year in 2015, with 333.5 million domestic and 4.68 million foreign tourist arrivals. 
• • Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh were other top destinations for domestic tourists, while foreign visitors preferred Maharashtra, UP, and Delhi after Tamil Nadu.

Business & Economy

• China's yuan today slumped against the dollar to reach a new 5-1/2 year low for the second consecutive day of trading. 
• • The yuan hit 6.6642, the lowest since December 2010 due to extended dollar buying in the market and amid concerns of the People's Bank of China tolerating further depreciation of the currency.

Science & Technology

• India's first Integrated Defence Communication Network (DCN) was launched by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today.
• • This network enables the Army, the Air Force, the Navy and the Special Forces Command to share situational awareness for a faster decision-making process.
  • It is the first tri-service communication and IT network of the Armed Forces.
• Indian Navy launched the fourth in the series of Follow-on Water Jet Fast Attack Craft (FO-WJFAC) called INS Tarasa. 
• • It was launched at the Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE), Kolkata.
  • The name of the ship, like the previously launched FO-WJFACs, is based on the picturesque island in the Andaman and Nicobar islands in the Bay of Bengal.

Sports

• Indian shuttler Sai Praneeth defeated Korea's Lee Hyun Il in the men’s singles final of the 2016 Canada Open in Calgary today. 
• • This is world number 37 Praneeth’s first Grand Prix title.
• Indian shuttlers Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy won the men’s doubles title at the 2016 Canada Open today, by defeating home favourites Adrian Liu and Toby Ng. 
• The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports granted recognition to Paralympic Committee of India (PCI).

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