Current Affairs 6th november 2015

• Justin Trudeau sworn in as Prime Minister of Canada

Justin Trudeau of Liberal Party has sworn in as 23rd Prime Minister of Canada ending 10 years of Conservative rule.

Along with him 30-member of his Cabinet also sworn-in at a public ceremony held at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, Canada.

With this Justin Trudeau (43) became the second youngest PM of Canada after Joe Clark (40) who was youngest PM was of Conservative party and had entered in office in 1979

Justin Trudeau is eldest son of Canada’s former PM Pierre Trudeau who was in office for 16 years and led the country till 1984. With this he also became first to follow a parent into PM’s office.

4 Indo-Canadians in Trudeau Cabinet

Harjit Sajjan

• He is Canadian Sikh who has sworn-in as Defence Minister of Canada. He is MP from Vancouver South and was decorated Lt Colonel in the Canadian Armed Forces.
• He was born in India and later moved with his family to Canada when he was 5 years-old.
• He had worked as Detective for the Gang Crime Unit and later joined Canadian military. He had served in numerous foreign deployments in Bosnia, Kandahar.
• He was bestowed with numerous military honours including Meritorious Service Medal (2013).

Amarjeet Sohi

• Sohi has sworn in as Minister of Infrastructure and Communities.
• He is a former Edmonton City councillor and was in office from 2010 to 2015.
• In 2015, he was elected as MP from Edmonton Mill Woods and had defeated then Indo-Canadian Minister Tim Uppal.
• He was born in India in 1964 and had immigrated to Canada in 198

Navdeep Bains

• Canadian Sikh was sworn in Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.
• He is currently MP from Mississauga—Malton. Earlier from 2004 to 2011, he was MP Mississauga—Brampton South.
• Bains was born in Toronto on June 16, 1977 to entrepreneur immigrant Indian parents.

Bardish Chagger

• She was sworn in as Minister for Small Business and Tourism.
• She is first time MP from Waterloo.

• Maldives Parliament impeaches Vice President Ahmed Adeeb Abdul Ghafoor

Maldivian Parliament Majlis has voted overwhelmingly to impeach Vice President Ahmed Adeeb Abdul Ghafoor in an extraordinary sitting.

Impeachment motion: 61 parliamentarians of Majlis out of the total 85 present, voted in favour of the motion more than 57 votes required to impeach the Vice President. The main opposition group Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) remained abstained in voting.

Background

• Adeeb is the second Vice President to be impeached in Maldives after impeachment of his predecessorMohamed Jameel since June 2015.
• He has been charged with plotting to assassinate the President Yameen Abdul Gayoom in an explosion on his speedboat on September 2015.
• The political crisis in the island nation has intensified recently, after President Yameen had declared national emergency for one month.
• For treason, Adeeb Gayoom will be tried under Maldivian government’s recently passed tough terrorism law. If found guilty, he could face up to 25 years in jail.

Several countries including United States, United Kingdom and international human rights groups have urged the Maldives government to end the national emergency.

Maldives

Maldives is comprises 1192 small tropical coral islands in Indian Ocean with a population of around 3.4 lakhs, mainly Sunni Muslims. Its economy is mainly based on tourist trade and is better known for its beaches and luxury island resorts. The country had a difficult transition to democracy since holding its first multiparty election in 2008 and since then it is facing numerous political crisis .

• Former Indian Ambassador to Nepal Bimal Prasad passes away

India’s former Ambassador to Nepal and modern Indian historian Bimal Prasad passed away in New Delhi at the age of 92.

He was a close associate of independence activist, social reformer Jayaprakash Narayan who had pioneered Total Revolution Movement in 1974-75.

About Bimal Prasad

• Bimal Prasad (born in 1925) was intellectual with socialist inclinations and was known for his postcolonial analysis of the Indian independence movement.
• Professor: He was professor of South Asian Studies and Dean of School of International Studies Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and also had taught history at Patna University.
• Ambassador: He was appointed ambassador to Nepal by Prime Minister Chandrashekhar (1991–1995).
• Books: Prasad had authored a number of books on JP’s philosophy and life including ‘Socialism, Sarvodaya and Democracy‘, ‘Gandhi, Nehru and JP, Studies in Leadership‘ and ‘A Revolutionary’s Quest.’
• Other offices: He had served as the Chairman of Institute of Gandhian Studies (Varanasi), Director of Gandhi Smriti and Memorial, Honorary Fellow of Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) and Honorary Director of Rajendra Prasad Academy (New Delhi).
• He was also Senior Fellow at the School of Oriental and African Studies at University of London and Visiting Professor at the University of Leeds.

• Actor Vikram Gokhale awarded 2015 Vishnudas Bhave Award

Renowned film, television and stage actor Vikram Gokhale was awarded with the prestigious Vishnudas Bhave Award.

He was conferred with this award for his outstanding contribution to Marathi theatre.

Eminent actress-singer Faiyaz Shaikh presented the award to him on the occasion of Marathi Rangbhumi Din observed on 5 November in Sangli district of Maharashtra.

About Vikram Gokhale

• Vikram Gokhale was born on 30 October 1947 in Pune, Maharashtra.
• He comes from family which was been active in the starting phase of Indian film industry. He is the son well-known veteran Marathi theatre and film actor Chandrakant Gokhale.
• His great grandmother Durgabai Kamat was the first female artiste of the Indian screen and his grandmother Kamlabai Gokhale was the first female child artiste of Indian cinema.
• He has acted in more than 60 films, television series and stage performances.
• Awards: Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2011), National Film Award for Best Actor category (2013) for his lead role in Marathi film Anumati.

About Vishnudas Bhave Award: It is an annual award instituted by Sangli-based Akhil Maharashtra Natya Vidya Mandir in the memory of famous Marathi dramatist Vishnudas Bhave.