1. Who has been elected chairman of the Life Insurance Council, the apex industry body of insurers in the country?
S.K. Roy
He will be heading the three-member executive committee (EC), a key body of the council, for a period of three years. The three members of the EC elected on Saturday were Tarun Chugh (PNB Met Life), Anup Rau (Reliance Life) and Sandeep Ghosh (Bharti AXA).
2. Who won the Hamburg Open Men’s Title-2015 defeating Fabio Fognini of Italy?
Rafael Nadal.
The Hamburg Open is his 67th career title.
3. Which club won the 2015 FA Community Shield?
Arsenal.
The 2015 FA Community Shield was the 93rd FA Community Shield, an annual English football match played between the winners of the previous season's Premier League and FA Cup. The match was contested by Arsenal, the 2014–15 FA Cup winners, and Chelsea, champions of the 2014–15 Premier League.
4. Which club won the 2015 DFL-Supercup, the sixth edition of the German Super Cup?
VfL Wolfsburg.
2015 DFL-Supercup is an annual football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal competitions. It featured Bayern Munich, the winners of the 2014–15 Bundesliga and VfL Wolfsburg, the winners of the 2014–15 DFB-Pokal.
5. Name the Polish hammer thrower and the first woman in history to throw the hammer over 80m?
Anita Włodarczyk.
She currently holds the women's world record of 81.08m.
6. Which club won the French Super Cup-2015, (2015 Champions Trophy)?
Paris Saint-Germain.
7. Who won the Player of The Series award in the three ODI cricket matches played between Zimbabwe and New Zealand held in Zimbabwe in August 2015?
Kane Williamson (New Zealand).
8. What is the name given to the Technical University established by the government of Kerala in 2015?
Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam Technological University.
The objective of the University is to coordinate, supervise, regulate, guide and provide leadership in all aspects of technological and engineering education and research in Kerala State. The university has its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram.
9. Which city will host the 2022 Winter Olympics?
Beijing.
It will be the third consecutive Olympic Games held in Asia, after Pyeongchang 2018 and Tokyo 2020. Having hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics, Beijing will be the first city ever to host both the summer and Winter Olympics.
10. South African swimmer who broke a new world record in a preliminary heat of the men's 50m breaststrock swimming event at the 2015 FINA World Championships in Kazan on August 4, 2015?
S.K. Roy
He will be heading the three-member executive committee (EC), a key body of the council, for a period of three years. The three members of the EC elected on Saturday were Tarun Chugh (PNB Met Life), Anup Rau (Reliance Life) and Sandeep Ghosh (Bharti AXA).
2. Who won the Hamburg Open Men’s Title-2015 defeating Fabio Fognini of Italy?
Rafael Nadal.
The Hamburg Open is his 67th career title.
3. Which club won the 2015 FA Community Shield?
Arsenal.
The 2015 FA Community Shield was the 93rd FA Community Shield, an annual English football match played between the winners of the previous season's Premier League and FA Cup. The match was contested by Arsenal, the 2014–15 FA Cup winners, and Chelsea, champions of the 2014–15 Premier League.
4. Which club won the 2015 DFL-Supercup, the sixth edition of the German Super Cup?
VfL Wolfsburg.
2015 DFL-Supercup is an annual football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal competitions. It featured Bayern Munich, the winners of the 2014–15 Bundesliga and VfL Wolfsburg, the winners of the 2014–15 DFB-Pokal.
5. Name the Polish hammer thrower and the first woman in history to throw the hammer over 80m?
Anita Włodarczyk.
She currently holds the women's world record of 81.08m.
6. Which club won the French Super Cup-2015, (2015 Champions Trophy)?
Paris Saint-Germain.
7. Who won the Player of The Series award in the three ODI cricket matches played between Zimbabwe and New Zealand held in Zimbabwe in August 2015?
Kane Williamson (New Zealand).
8. What is the name given to the Technical University established by the government of Kerala in 2015?
Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam Technological University.
The objective of the University is to coordinate, supervise, regulate, guide and provide leadership in all aspects of technological and engineering education and research in Kerala State. The university has its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram.
9. Which city will host the 2022 Winter Olympics?
Beijing.
It will be the third consecutive Olympic Games held in Asia, after Pyeongchang 2018 and Tokyo 2020. Having hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics, Beijing will be the first city ever to host both the summer and Winter Olympics.
10. South African swimmer who broke a new world record in a preliminary heat of the men's 50m breaststrock swimming event at the 2015 FINA World Championships in Kazan on August 4, 2015?
Cameron van der Burgh.
The South African won his one-length heat in 26.62 seconds, improving his own world record (26.67 seconds) in the 50-meter breaststroke.
11. Condemned prisoner who was executed at the Karachi central prison in the early hours of August 4, 2015 on charges of kidnapping and killing a minor boy in 2004?
Shafqat Hussain.
Supporters say Hussain was 14 when sentenced to death for murder of a seven-year-old, after confession his lawyers say police obtained by torture. Shafqat Hussain, whose execution had been repeatedly postponed amid international pressure, was hanged after Pakistan’s courts remained unconvinced by claims that he was a minor at the time he murdered a boy more than a decade ago.
12. Which players have been selected as the Players of the series of Ashes -2015 (Australia Vs England)?
Chris Rogers (Australia) and Joe Root (England).
13. The Ashes 2015 is won by?
England.
England won the 5-match Test series (Ashes) against Australia 3-2.
14. Russian champion free diver and multiple world record holder who found missing on August 2, 2015 and is presumed to be dead after search efforts were abandoned on 5 August?
Natalia Molchanova.
Molchanova was the world's most decorated free diver ever, holding 41 world records at the time of her presumed death and winning 23 gold medals during her lengthy career. In September 2009, she became the first woman to pass 100 meters diving with constant weight, in a dive to 101 meters in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt. Molchanova is also the first woman to dive on one breath through the Blue Hole arch in Dahab, Egypt. Her record was a dive of 127 metre.
On 2 August 2015, she was reported missing after a recreational dive near Ibiza, Spain. She went down to a depth of 40 metres, not as deep as normal, but caught by a current, without weights, she is thought to have been taken down. She never came up for air. Initial rescue and recovery efforts were unsuccessful.
15. Indian-American who has been confirmed as the U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives?
Atul Keshap.
Atul becomes the second Indian-origin diplomat to be posted to the region after Richard Rahul Verma.
16. Which club has won the Audi Cup-2015 defeating Real Madrid in the final?
Bayern Munich.
17. Bangladeshi secular blogger who has been murdered in his home after a gang armed with machetes broke in and hacked him to death?
Niloy Chakrabarti.
Niloy Chakrabarti, who used the pen name Niloy Neel, was hacked to death with machetes after a gang broke into his apartment in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka. He’s the fourth secular blogger to be killed in a gruesome manner after the religious fundamentalists killed bloggers Avijit Roy, Ahmed Rajib Haider and Ananta Bijoy Das.
18. Sri Lankan Cricketer who has been appointed as the batting consultant of England for the Test and limited-overs series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates?
Mahela Jayawardene.
19. American swimmer who broke her own world record in the womens' 1500-meter freestyle at the world swimming championships in Kazan, Russia?
Katie Ledecky.
The 18-year-old won her fifth gold medal of the meet by swimming the 800 in 8 minutes 7.39 seconds. She became the first person to sweep the 200, 400, 800 and 1,500 freestyle events at the world championships. She also swam the anchor leg on the winning 800 relay team.
20. COMPLETE LIST OF WINNERS OF KERALA STATE FILM AWARDS 2014:
Best Film: "Ottal" – Jayaraj.
Best Director: Sanal Kumar Sashidharan ("Oraalpokkam")
Best Actor: Nivin Pauly ("1983" and "Bangalore Days"), Sudhev Nair ("My Life Partner")
Best Actress:Nazriya Nazim ("Bangalore Days" and "Ohm Shanthi Oshaana")
Best Cinematographer: Amal Neerad ("Iyobinte Pusthakam")
Best Script Writer (Original): Anjali Menon ("Bangalore Days")
Best Screenplay (Adaptation): Ranjith ("Njan")
Best Story: Sidhartha Siva ("Ain")
Best Background Score: Bijipal
Best Character Role (Male): Anoop Menon ("1983" and "Vikramadithyan")
Best Character Role (Female): Sethulakshmi ("How Old Are You")
Second Best Film: "My Life Partner" - Padmakumar
Best Editor: Lijo Paul ("Ohm Shanthi Oshaana")
Best Child Actor: Adwaith ("Ankuram")
Best Child Actress: Ann Fathima (" Randupenkuttikal")
Best Music Director: Ramesh Narayan "White Boys" (Song: Aadityakiranangal.)
Best Lyricist: OS Unnikrishnan (Song: Ithrapakalinodu - "La Sa Gu")
Best Playback Singer (Male): KJ Yesudas (Song: Aadityakiranangal - "White Boys")
Best Playback Singer (Female): Shreya Ghoshal (Song: Vijanathayil - "How Old Are You")
Best Debutant Director: Abrid Shine ("1983")
Best Costume Designer: Sameera Saneesh (various films)
Best Sound Designer: Thapasnayak ("Iyobinte Pusthakam")
Best Processing Lab/Colourist: Ranganathan ("Iyobinte Pusthakam")
Best Art Director: Indulal Kaveedu "Njan Ninnodukoodeyundu"
Best Dubing Artist∙ (Male): Harishanth ("White Boys")
Best Dubbing Artist (Female): Vimmi Mariam George ("Munnariyippu")
Best Live Sound: Sandeep Kurissery, Jijimon Joesph "Oralpokkam"
Best Makeup Artist: Manoj Angamali ("Iyobinte Pusthakam")
Best Sound Mixing: Harikumar (various films)
Special Jury Award for Popular Film and Aesthetic Value: "Ohm Shanthi Oshaana"
Best Children's Film: "Ankuram" - T Deepesh
21. Who was named CEO of Google on August 10, 2015?
Pichai Sundararajan.
India-born Sundar Pichai was named CEO of Google by the company's founders Larry Page and Sergei Brin in course of a re-organization that created a mother company called Alphabet.
The new mother company “Alphabet” will include, besides Google, units such as Calico (which focuses on Longevity), X lab (which incubates new efforts like Wing, Google's drone delivery effort) and units dealing with life sciences (such as the one working on smart contact lens that detects blood sugar level). Google's investment arms, Ventures and Capital, will also be part of Alphabet.
22. Which day will be declared as National Handloom Day every year beginning from year 2015 throughout India?
August 7.
23. Eminent Kannada poet and freedom fighter who passed away on august 9, 2015?
Kayyara Kinhanna Rai.
Some of his famous poems are Aikyagana, Shreemukha, Chethana, Punarnava and Koraga. His other important works are Sahithya Drushti and Malayala Sahitya Charithre (History of Malayalam literature) which is a translation of an original work by P. K. Parameshwaran Nair.
24. Egypt inaugurated a major expansion to the Suez Canal on august 7, 2015.
According to the Suez Canal Authority, how many kilometers of new waterways have been added to the Suez Canal?
72.
25. North Korea's Deputy Prime Minister who was allegedly executed for critical about the forest policy implemented by country's leader Kim Jong-Un.?
Choe Yong-Gon.
Last April, the North Korean Defence Minister Hyon Yong-chol was also executed by firing squad.
26. Former Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer who has been appointed as the new Election Commissioner of India on August 13, 2015?
Om Prakash Rawat.
27. Which club won the 2015 UEFA Super Cup?
Barcelona.
The 2015 UEFA Super Cup was a football match between Spanish teams Barcelona and Sevilla on 11 August 2015. It was the 40th UEFA Super Cup, an annual tournament contested by the winners of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.
28. Former Indian cricketer who has been announced as the brand ambassador of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup to be held in India in the year 2017?
Sourav Ganguly.
Ganguly was appointed social ambassador by Coca-Cola, one of the main sponsors of the U17 World Cup.
29. Who became the first non-wicket-keeper to take eight catches in a single Test match?
Ajinkya Rahane.
Rahane had picked up three catches in the first innings and followed it up with five more in the second innings, including a one-handed stunner to get rid of the dangerous Kumar Sangakkara. Rahane breaks world record for most catches (8) by a fielder in a Test match.
30. Who becomes first Indian to win silver at World Badminton Championship?
Saina Nehwal.
Saina Nehwal settles for silver medal at the World Badminton Championship after losing her final against Carolina Marin.
31. Who won the 2015 World Badminton Championships which were held from 10 to 16 August 2015 in Jakarta, Indonesia?
Carolina Marin. (Spain).
32. Former India volleyball captain who has been selected for the prestigious Dhyan Chand Award-2015?
T.P .Padmanabhan Nair.
The award carries a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh, a plaque and a scroll of honour. Nair, the only Indian volleyball player to have won two Asian Games medals.
Former hockey player Romeo James and former Davis Cup captain Shiv Prakash Misra were also recommended for the Dhyan Chand Award -2015.
Dhyan Chand Award is the India's highest award for lifetime achievement in sports and games, given by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India.
33. Who won the Rogers Cup Men’s Singles Title -2015 defeating Novak Djokovic in the final?
Andy Murray.
34. Olympic champion who has agreed to hand back the 1500 metres gold medal she won at London 2012 and will serve an eight-year ban after admitting to blood doping?
Asli Cakir Alptekin.
35. Who won the Rogers Cup Women’s Singles Title -2015 defeating Simona Halep in the final?
Belinda Bencic. (Switzerland).
36. Former Cabinet secretary who was appointed as the Chairman of the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) on August 114, 2015?
Ajit Kumar Seth.
Seth has been appointed in place of Atul Chaturvedi, who has completed his tenure.
37. Google restructured its company in a big way. As per the new restructuring, which is the parent company of Google?
Alphabet Inc.
38. Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi visited the United Arab Emirates from 16-17 August 2015 at the invitation of His Highness Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Zayed AI Nahyan. Modi’s visit to the UAE is the first visit by an Indian prime minister to the Gulf nation in?
34 years.
39. Which country has reopened its embassy in Cuba more than 54 years after it was closed, in a symbolic step signalling the warming of ties between both countries?
U.S.A.
John Kerry, the first US Secretary of State to visit Cuba in 70 years, presided over the ceremony in Havana.
40. Who assumed charge as the new MD and CEO of the state-owned Bank of Baroda (BoB) for three years?
P.S. Jayakumar.
41. What is the name given to the new version of Android operating system (Android 6.0)?
Android 6.0 "Marshmallow".
Marshmallow primarily focuses on improving the overall user experience of Lollipop, introducing a new permissions architecture, new APIs for contextual assistants (a feature notably leveraged by "Google Now On Tap"—a new capability of the Google Search app), a new power management system that reduces background activity when a device is not being physically handled, native support for fingerprint recognition and USB Type-C connectors, the ability to migrate data to a microSD card and use it as primary storage, as well as other internal changes.
42. The Supreme Court of India has recently ordered that each one of the elephants in a state should be registered in order to put an end to the brutalities meted out on them. Which is that state?
Kerala.
43. Which club won the Spanish Super Cup 2015 (The 2015 Supercopa de Espana)?
Athletic Bilbao.
The Spanish Super Cup 2015 was a two-legged football match-up that was played in August 2015 between Athletic Bilbao, runners-up of the 2014–15 Copa del Rey, and Barcelona, the champions of 2014–15 La Liga and the 2014–15 Copa del Rey.
44. Syrian archaeologist and the head of antiquities for the ancient city of Palmyra, (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) who was publicly beheaded by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on August 18, 2015?
Khaled al-Asaad.
Islamic State militants beheaded a renowned antiquities scholar “Khaled al-Asaad” in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra and hung his mutilated body on a column in a main square of the historic site because he apparently refused to reveal where valuable artefacts had been moved for safekeeping.
45. Malayalam actor who acted in nearly 300 regional films, passed away on August 19, 2015?
Paravoor Bharathan.
He began his film career as a villain and later migrated to character roles. Some of his much talked about films include “In Harihara Nagar”, “Aniyan Bava Chetan Bava”, “Aniathipravu”, and “Meleparambil Aanveedu”. He won the 2004 Bahadoor Award.
46. Who was elected president of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) on August 19, 2015 beating Ukraine’s Sergey Bubka?
Sebastian Coe.
47. Music director from Kerala who is famous for his devotional songs like “Yahoodiyaayile Oru Gramathil”, passed away on August 19, 2015?
A J Joseph.
During his stint as film song composer, though very brief, Joseph produced many memorable songs, including ‘Ore Swaram Ore Niram’. The song fetched K S Chitra her first state award in the best female playback singer category in 1985. Later he composed music for Kunjattakilikal, Ee Kaikalil, Naattu visesham, Balikakka ...etc
48. Which state has recorded highest number of suicides (16,307) in India in 2014, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) Survey?
Maharashtra.
Maharashtra has recorded highest number of suicides (16,307) in the nation in 2014. Maharashtra is followed by Tamil Nadu (16,122), West Bengal (14,310), Karnataka (10,945) and Telangana (9,623). Lakshadweep has recorded least number of suicides.
49. Which city of India has recorded the highest number of suicides in 2014, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data?
Kollam (Kerala).
Kollam in Kerala recorded the highest rate of suicide (40.3 per 1 lakh population) while Srinagar least (0.7/1 lakh) in 2014 among the 53 cities.
50. A Pakistani court on August 20, 2015 banned the release of Bollywood movie in the country on a plea filed by JuD chief and Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed against it alleging that the film, set on post-26/11 attacks, contains “filthy propaganda” against him and his outfit. Which is that film?
Phantom.
Phantom is a 2015 Indian action thriller film directed by Kabir Khan, produced by Sajid Nadiadwala and Siddharth Roy Kapur, and starring Saif Ali Khan and Katrina Kaif in leading roles.
51. Which country has decided to build $10 billion nuclear power plant near Karachi in Pakistan to add 1,100 megawatts to the energy-starved country's electric grid?
China.
52. Which country has inked an information exchange agreement on August 26, 2015 on tax matters with Seychelles in order to curb tax evasion and boost its efforts to fight against black money?
India.
India and Seychelles signed five agreements/Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) aimed at improving bilateral relations.
List of Agreements/MoUs are: Air Services Agreement, MoU for providing one Dornier Maritime Aircraft, Agreement for exchange of information with respect to Taxes, MoU between Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Seychelles Agricultural Agency for Cooperation in agricultural research and education and Protocol on framework of cooperation in the field of Blue Economy between India and Seychelles.
53. Who was appointed Chairman and Managing Director of “Air India” on August 20, 2015?
Ashwani Lohani.
54. The Islamic State group demolished an ancient monastery founded more than 1,500 years in central Syria on August 21, 2015 near a town where the extremists abducted dozens of Christians earlier. What is the name of that ancient monastery?
Saint Elian Monastery.
A bulldozer of the Islamic State militants destroying the Saint Eliane Monastery near the town of Qaryatain which IS captured in early August, in Homs province, Syria.
55. The 15th World Championships in Athletics were held 22–30 August 2015 in?
Beijing, China.
Kenya topped the medal table for the first time, with 7 gold, 6 silver and 3 bronze medals. The United States won 18 medals, six gold, six silver and six bronze, which was the highest tally. Host nation China, finished 11th on the medals table, while Russia, the overall winner and host in 2013, finished ninth.
56. Who was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka in august 205?
Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Wickremesinghe had won the General Parliamentary Elections held on the 17th August 2015, making himself the Prime Minister for his 4th term, with 106 seats in 225-member Parliament of Sri Lanka forming the government (though short of 7 seats to secure the simple majority of the Parliament) defeating the political rivalry UPFA de facto leader and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his bid to return as Prime Minister after his defeat as President.
57. Name the solid-fuel short-range surface-to-surface missile which was unveiled by Iran on 21 August 2015?
Fateh-313(Rocket).
The missile can strike targets with pin-point accuracy within a range of 500 km (310 miles).
58. Which team won the Pro Kabaddi League 2015 defeating Bengaluru Bulls in the final?
U Mumba.
59. Name the American actress and model, best known for her roles in Paradise Alley in 1978 and Lethal Weapon 4 in 1998, passed away on august 5, 2015?
Joyce Ingalls.
Ingalls, who is best known for her role as a prostitute in 1978’s Paradise Alley alongside Sylvester Stallone, also appeared in 1975’s The Man Who Would Not Die, 1983’s Deadly Force, and 1998’s Lethal Weapon 4.
60. Which Australian cricketers made an emotional farewell to international cricket after helping Australia win the fifth and final Ashes Test against England at The Oval?
Michael Clarke and Chris Rogers.
Clarke made his test debut in 2004 against India in Bangalore and scored a century on debut. Clarke played 114 Tests, and boasts of an average that is a shade below fifty. With 8628 runs he is the fourth highest run-getter for the Aussies in Tests.
Michael Clarke led Australia to their 5th Cricket World Cup triumph, when his team defeated New Zealand in the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 at the MCG. Under his captaincy, Australia whitewashed arch-rivals England 5-0 during the 2013–14 Ashes series down-under & also gained the No. 1 Test ranking from South Africa after a long span of 4 years and 9 months (from August 2009 to April 2014), when Australia defeated South Africa 2-1 in a 3 match Test series, during Australia's tour of South Africa in 2014. On 22 November 2012, Clarke scored a double century at the Adelaide Oval, making him the only Test batsman to ever achieve four double centuries in a calendar year. He won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, thereby winning the Cricketer of the Year 2013 and also the Test Cricketer of the Year 2013. He led Australia to a 5–0 whitewash of England in the 2013–14 Ashes series for the first time since 2006–07 Ashes series. He was named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2010
Clarke played 244 ODIs, made 7907 runs at an average of 44.42 with 8 centuries and 58 half-centuries. He led his country in 73 matches, of which Australia won 49.
Rogers made his debut for Australia against India in 2008. He has 5 Test tons and 14 half-centuries at an overall average of 42.86.
61. Which state of India tops the cognisable crime chart released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)?
Madhya Pradesh.
Maharashtra which stood second with 2,49,834 crimes reported last year, which is 8.8 per cent of the total crimes registered in the country. Madhya Pradesh also tops the list of sexual offences under the IPC. The highest numbers of rape cases - 5,076 - were reported in Madhya Pradesh followed by 3,759 in Rajasthan.
62. Former Sri Lankan cricket captain and wicket keeper batsman who retired on 24 August 2015 from International Cricket after playing the last match against India as part of three match test series held in Colombo, Sri Lanka?
Kumar Sangakkara.
Sangakkara is Sri Lanka's most successful Test batsman, having hit 12,400 runs over 134 matches. He is second to Sachin Tendulkar for most international runs with 28,016. He is fifth on the all-time run-scorers list, and his present average of 58.31 is the second-highest for any batsman with more than 7000 runs. In terms of number of innings,he was also the quickest batsman to 8000, 9000, 10,000 (equal with Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara), 11,000 and 12,000 runs. He has 38 hundreds and 11 double-centuries - one behind Don Bradman's record of 12.
In his Test match career he scored 38 centuries and 52 half-centuries from 134 matches.
63. Who won Cincinnati Masters Men’s title-2015 defeating Novak Djokovic in the final?
Roger Federer.
64. ISIS militants have reportedly used dynamite to destroy an ancient temple situated in the Syrian archaeological site of Palmyra. What is the name of that ancient temple?
The Baalshamin temple
The Temple of Baalshamin was an ancient temple in the city of Palmyra, Syria, dedicated to the Canaanite sky deity Baalshamin. The temple's earliest phase dates to the late 2nd century BC; its altar was built in 115 AD, and the temple was substantially rebuilt in 131AD. With the spreading of Christianity in the region in the 5th century AD, the temple was converted to a church. In 1980, UNESCO designated the temple as a World Heritage Site. The Baalshamin temple had stood at the site for nearly 2,000 years and was considered one of the best preserved temples on the site.
65. Veteran actor-director who has been appointed as chairman of India’s Oscar jury, which will select the country’s official entry in the best foreign film category of the 88th Academy Awards?
Amol Palekar.
66. Who has been appointed as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) on August 18, 2015?
Kishor Piraji Kharat.
67. Greek Prime Minister who announced his resignation on August 20, 2015, paving the way for new elections?
Alexis Tsipras.
68. Former Australian opener and a member of Don Bradman's 1948 'Invincibles' team, passed away on August 22, 2015?
Arthur Morris.
Arthur Morris, the former opening batsman of Australia was the leading run-scorer in the famous 1948 Ashes series in England. He was a left-hand opener who made his Test debut at the Gabba in 1946 in a home Ashes series, and went on to play 46 Tests for 3533 runs at an average of 46.48, including 12 centuries.
69. British professional open-wheel racing driver who died on august 24, 2015 after sustaining a head injury when he was hit by a large piece of debris that broke off a car in the crash-filled race at Pocono Raceway?
.Justin Wilson.
70. Who has been selected as the director general (DG) of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), a premier research and development organisation?
Girish Sahni.
71. Name the woman who became known as the "Dust Lady" after being captured on camera in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on New York City, died on August 24, 2015 after a battle with cancer?
Marcy Borders.
Marcy Borders was pictured covered in dust after the World Trade Center was hit by two passenger jets. She was inside one of the Twin Towers at the time of the attack but managed to escape the building onto the street below.
72. Retired Calcutta High Court judge and noise crusader who passed away on august 27, 2015?
Justice Bhagwati Prasad Banerjee.
Justice Banerjee had on April 1, 1996, ruled that "nobody can be made captive listener (and) everybody has the fundamental right of not to hear" while adjudicating on a petition filed by Om Birangana Society, which had moved court when police did not allow its members to play songs in the open. Subsequently, all rules (state as well as central) about using loudspeakers and bursting firecrackers were based on the templates of Justice Banerjee's rulings.
73. India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) which was launched from the Second Launch Pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR (SDSC SHAR), Sriharikota on August 27, 2015?
GSLV-D6.
GSLV-D6 launched 2117 kg GSAT-6, an advanced communication satellite, into a GTO. GSAT-6 will provide S-band communication services in the country.
74. Who became the fastest cricketer to reach 8,000 ODI runs?
AB de Villiers. (South Africa).
He scored 8000 runs in 182 innings and broke the record of Sourav Ganguly, who got there in 200 innings.
75. Veteran Kannada writer and former Vice-Chancellor of Kannada University, Hampi who was known for his strong stand against superstitious practices and right-wing groups, was shot dead by two unidentified persons at his house in Karnataka?
M. M. Kalburgi.
Kalburgi was an Indian scholar of Vachana sahitya (Vachana literature) and academic who served as the vice-chancellor of Kannada University in Hampi. A noted epigraphist of Kannada, he was awarded the National Sahitya Akademi award in 2006 for Marga 4, a collection of his research articles.
76. A top British ISIS computer hacker who has been killed in a US drone strike in Syria in august, 205?
Junaid Hussain.
Hussain, who grew up in Birmingham in a Pakistani-origin family, was jailed in 2012 for hacking Tony Blair's accounts and posting his personal information online. Hussain left the UK around 2013 for Syria, and was at one point suspected of being the infamous executioner "Jihadi John".
77. Which footballer has received the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award for 2014-2015?
Lionel Messi.
78. Who won the Player of the series in the 3 ODI cricket matches played between New Zealand and South Africa held in South Africa in August 2015?
Hashim Amla (South Africa).
Series - South Africa won the 3-match series 2-1.
79. Ace writer who has been selected for the “Padmaprabha Puraskaram” for the year 2015?
Benyamin.
The award comprises a purse of Rs. 75,000, a gem-studded plaque and a citation.
80. Who has resigned as chairman of Micromax, an Indian consumer electronics company?
Sanjay Kapoor.
81. Women Hockey team of which country recently qualified for Olympics after a long gap of 36 years?
India.
Indian women hockey team last participated in the 1980 Olympics that was held in Moscow, Russia.
82. Name the Indian babysitter in Connecticut who was sentenced to 14 years in US federal prison for the death of a 19-month-old boy in her care last year?
Kinjal Patel.
83. Mount McKinley, the 20,237-foot mountain and the tallest in North America which has been renamed to?
Denali.
The mountain was originally known by Alaska Natives before it was renamed to honor President William McKinley.
84. England's all-time top-scorer in ODIs who has retired from one-day international cricket in August 2015?
Ian Bell.
Bell finished with 5,416 runs in 161 ODIs (four tons, 34 fifties) at an average of 37.87.
85. American film director, writer, producer, and actor known for his work on horror films, particularly slasher films, passed away on august 30,2015?
Wes Craven.
He was best known for creating the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise featuring the Freddy Krueger character. Some of his other films include The Hills Have Eyes, The Last House on the Left, The People Under the Stairs, Red Eye, The Serpent and the Rainbow, and Vampire in Brooklyn.
Slasher films are a subgenre of horror films which typically involve a violent psychopath murdering several victims.
China.
52. Which country has inked an information exchange agreement on August 26, 2015 on tax matters with Seychelles in order to curb tax evasion and boost its efforts to fight against black money?
India.
India and Seychelles signed five agreements/Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) aimed at improving bilateral relations.
List of Agreements/MoUs are: Air Services Agreement, MoU for providing one Dornier Maritime Aircraft, Agreement for exchange of information with respect to Taxes, MoU between Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Seychelles Agricultural Agency for Cooperation in agricultural research and education and Protocol on framework of cooperation in the field of Blue Economy between India and Seychelles.
53. Who was appointed Chairman and Managing Director of “Air India” on August 20, 2015?
Ashwani Lohani.
54. The Islamic State group demolished an ancient monastery founded more than 1,500 years in central Syria on August 21, 2015 near a town where the extremists abducted dozens of Christians earlier. What is the name of that ancient monastery?
Saint Elian Monastery.
A bulldozer of the Islamic State militants destroying the Saint Eliane Monastery near the town of Qaryatain which IS captured in early August, in Homs province, Syria.
55. The 15th World Championships in Athletics were held 22–30 August 2015 in?
Beijing, China.
Kenya topped the medal table for the first time, with 7 gold, 6 silver and 3 bronze medals. The United States won 18 medals, six gold, six silver and six bronze, which was the highest tally. Host nation China, finished 11th on the medals table, while Russia, the overall winner and host in 2013, finished ninth.
56. Who was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka in august 205?
Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Wickremesinghe had won the General Parliamentary Elections held on the 17th August 2015, making himself the Prime Minister for his 4th term, with 106 seats in 225-member Parliament of Sri Lanka forming the government (though short of 7 seats to secure the simple majority of the Parliament) defeating the political rivalry UPFA de facto leader and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his bid to return as Prime Minister after his defeat as President.
57. Name the solid-fuel short-range surface-to-surface missile which was unveiled by Iran on 21 August 2015?
Fateh-313(Rocket).
The missile can strike targets with pin-point accuracy within a range of 500 km (310 miles).
58. Which team won the Pro Kabaddi League 2015 defeating Bengaluru Bulls in the final?
U Mumba.
59. Name the American actress and model, best known for her roles in Paradise Alley in 1978 and Lethal Weapon 4 in 1998, passed away on august 5, 2015?
Joyce Ingalls.
Ingalls, who is best known for her role as a prostitute in 1978’s Paradise Alley alongside Sylvester Stallone, also appeared in 1975’s The Man Who Would Not Die, 1983’s Deadly Force, and 1998’s Lethal Weapon 4.
60. Which Australian cricketers made an emotional farewell to international cricket after helping Australia win the fifth and final Ashes Test against England at The Oval?
Michael Clarke and Chris Rogers.
Clarke made his test debut in 2004 against India in Bangalore and scored a century on debut. Clarke played 114 Tests, and boasts of an average that is a shade below fifty. With 8628 runs he is the fourth highest run-getter for the Aussies in Tests.
Michael Clarke led Australia to their 5th Cricket World Cup triumph, when his team defeated New Zealand in the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 at the MCG. Under his captaincy, Australia whitewashed arch-rivals England 5-0 during the 2013–14 Ashes series down-under & also gained the No. 1 Test ranking from South Africa after a long span of 4 years and 9 months (from August 2009 to April 2014), when Australia defeated South Africa 2-1 in a 3 match Test series, during Australia's tour of South Africa in 2014. On 22 November 2012, Clarke scored a double century at the Adelaide Oval, making him the only Test batsman to ever achieve four double centuries in a calendar year. He won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, thereby winning the Cricketer of the Year 2013 and also the Test Cricketer of the Year 2013. He led Australia to a 5–0 whitewash of England in the 2013–14 Ashes series for the first time since 2006–07 Ashes series. He was named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2010
Clarke played 244 ODIs, made 7907 runs at an average of 44.42 with 8 centuries and 58 half-centuries. He led his country in 73 matches, of which Australia won 49.
Rogers made his debut for Australia against India in 2008. He has 5 Test tons and 14 half-centuries at an overall average of 42.86.
61. Which state of India tops the cognisable crime chart released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)?
Madhya Pradesh.
Maharashtra which stood second with 2,49,834 crimes reported last year, which is 8.8 per cent of the total crimes registered in the country. Madhya Pradesh also tops the list of sexual offences under the IPC. The highest numbers of rape cases - 5,076 - were reported in Madhya Pradesh followed by 3,759 in Rajasthan.
62. Former Sri Lankan cricket captain and wicket keeper batsman who retired on 24 August 2015 from International Cricket after playing the last match against India as part of three match test series held in Colombo, Sri Lanka?
Kumar Sangakkara.
Sangakkara is Sri Lanka's most successful Test batsman, having hit 12,400 runs over 134 matches. He is second to Sachin Tendulkar for most international runs with 28,016. He is fifth on the all-time run-scorers list, and his present average of 58.31 is the second-highest for any batsman with more than 7000 runs. In terms of number of innings,he was also the quickest batsman to 8000, 9000, 10,000 (equal with Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara), 11,000 and 12,000 runs. He has 38 hundreds and 11 double-centuries - one behind Don Bradman's record of 12.
In his Test match career he scored 38 centuries and 52 half-centuries from 134 matches.
63. Who won Cincinnati Masters Men’s title-2015 defeating Novak Djokovic in the final?
Roger Federer.
64. ISIS militants have reportedly used dynamite to destroy an ancient temple situated in the Syrian archaeological site of Palmyra. What is the name of that ancient temple?
The Baalshamin temple
The Temple of Baalshamin was an ancient temple in the city of Palmyra, Syria, dedicated to the Canaanite sky deity Baalshamin. The temple's earliest phase dates to the late 2nd century BC; its altar was built in 115 AD, and the temple was substantially rebuilt in 131AD. With the spreading of Christianity in the region in the 5th century AD, the temple was converted to a church. In 1980, UNESCO designated the temple as a World Heritage Site. The Baalshamin temple had stood at the site for nearly 2,000 years and was considered one of the best preserved temples on the site.
65. Veteran actor-director who has been appointed as chairman of India’s Oscar jury, which will select the country’s official entry in the best foreign film category of the 88th Academy Awards?
Amol Palekar.
66. Who has been appointed as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) on August 18, 2015?
Kishor Piraji Kharat.
67. Greek Prime Minister who announced his resignation on August 20, 2015, paving the way for new elections?
Alexis Tsipras.
68. Former Australian opener and a member of Don Bradman's 1948 'Invincibles' team, passed away on August 22, 2015?
Arthur Morris.
Arthur Morris, the former opening batsman of Australia was the leading run-scorer in the famous 1948 Ashes series in England. He was a left-hand opener who made his Test debut at the Gabba in 1946 in a home Ashes series, and went on to play 46 Tests for 3533 runs at an average of 46.48, including 12 centuries.
69. British professional open-wheel racing driver who died on august 24, 2015 after sustaining a head injury when he was hit by a large piece of debris that broke off a car in the crash-filled race at Pocono Raceway?
.Justin Wilson.
70. Who has been selected as the director general (DG) of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), a premier research and development organisation?
Girish Sahni.
71. Name the woman who became known as the "Dust Lady" after being captured on camera in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on New York City, died on August 24, 2015 after a battle with cancer?
Marcy Borders.
Marcy Borders was pictured covered in dust after the World Trade Center was hit by two passenger jets. She was inside one of the Twin Towers at the time of the attack but managed to escape the building onto the street below.
72. Retired Calcutta High Court judge and noise crusader who passed away on august 27, 2015?
Justice Bhagwati Prasad Banerjee.
Justice Banerjee had on April 1, 1996, ruled that "nobody can be made captive listener (and) everybody has the fundamental right of not to hear" while adjudicating on a petition filed by Om Birangana Society, which had moved court when police did not allow its members to play songs in the open. Subsequently, all rules (state as well as central) about using loudspeakers and bursting firecrackers were based on the templates of Justice Banerjee's rulings.
73. India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) which was launched from the Second Launch Pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR (SDSC SHAR), Sriharikota on August 27, 2015?
GSLV-D6.
GSLV-D6 launched 2117 kg GSAT-6, an advanced communication satellite, into a GTO. GSAT-6 will provide S-band communication services in the country.
74. Who became the fastest cricketer to reach 8,000 ODI runs?
AB de Villiers. (South Africa).
He scored 8000 runs in 182 innings and broke the record of Sourav Ganguly, who got there in 200 innings.
75. Veteran Kannada writer and former Vice-Chancellor of Kannada University, Hampi who was known for his strong stand against superstitious practices and right-wing groups, was shot dead by two unidentified persons at his house in Karnataka?
M. M. Kalburgi.
Kalburgi was an Indian scholar of Vachana sahitya (Vachana literature) and academic who served as the vice-chancellor of Kannada University in Hampi. A noted epigraphist of Kannada, he was awarded the National Sahitya Akademi award in 2006 for Marga 4, a collection of his research articles.
76. A top British ISIS computer hacker who has been killed in a US drone strike in Syria in august, 205?
Junaid Hussain.
Hussain, who grew up in Birmingham in a Pakistani-origin family, was jailed in 2012 for hacking Tony Blair's accounts and posting his personal information online. Hussain left the UK around 2013 for Syria, and was at one point suspected of being the infamous executioner "Jihadi John".
77. Which footballer has received the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award for 2014-2015?
Lionel Messi.
78. Who won the Player of the series in the 3 ODI cricket matches played between New Zealand and South Africa held in South Africa in August 2015?
Hashim Amla (South Africa).
Series - South Africa won the 3-match series 2-1.
79. Ace writer who has been selected for the “Padmaprabha Puraskaram” for the year 2015?
Benyamin.
The award comprises a purse of Rs. 75,000, a gem-studded plaque and a citation.
80. Who has resigned as chairman of Micromax, an Indian consumer electronics company?
Sanjay Kapoor.
81. Women Hockey team of which country recently qualified for Olympics after a long gap of 36 years?
India.
Indian women hockey team last participated in the 1980 Olympics that was held in Moscow, Russia.
82. Name the Indian babysitter in Connecticut who was sentenced to 14 years in US federal prison for the death of a 19-month-old boy in her care last year?
Kinjal Patel.
83. Mount McKinley, the 20,237-foot mountain and the tallest in North America which has been renamed to?
Denali.
The mountain was originally known by Alaska Natives before it was renamed to honor President William McKinley.
84. England's all-time top-scorer in ODIs who has retired from one-day international cricket in August 2015?
Ian Bell.
Bell finished with 5,416 runs in 161 ODIs (four tons, 34 fifties) at an average of 37.87.
85. American film director, writer, producer, and actor known for his work on horror films, particularly slasher films, passed away on august 30,2015?
Wes Craven.
He was best known for creating the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise featuring the Freddy Krueger character. Some of his other films include The Hills Have Eyes, The Last House on the Left, The People Under the Stairs, Red Eye, The Serpent and the Rainbow, and Vampire in Brooklyn.
Slasher films are a subgenre of horror films which typically involve a violent psychopath murdering several victims.
