Daily Current Affairs:16 March 2014

1) Nico Rosberg won Australian Grand Prix: Nico Rosberg opened Formula One's new era with a dominant victory at the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, as world champion Sebastian Vettel and pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton were early casualties. Rosberg, whose Mercedes team have come out strongest with the sport's new hybrid technology, led from start to finish and took the chequered flag 24.5 seconds ahead of Australia's Daniel Ricciardo in his Red Bull debut. McLaren's Kevin Magnussen, 21, drove to a brilliant third place in his Formula One debut. He became the first Danish driver ever to reach the podium.

2) Sebastian Vettel's winning streak ends in Australian grand prix: Sebastian Vettel's record run of nine consecutive race victories ended on Sunday when the quadruple world champion retired his Red Bull from the season-opening Australian Grand Prix with a reliability problem. The German complained of a lack of boost pressure during his pre-race installation lap and was noticeably lacking in power when taking off from 12th place on the grid.

3) Karnataka complete hattrick, won Vijay Hazare Trophy: Karnataka completed a historic treble at domestic level by emerging champions in the Vijay Hazare Trophy with a four-wicket win over Railways in yet another low-scoring affair at Eden Gardens on Sunday. Chasing 158, the Ranji and Irani Trophy champions had a jittery start after they lost five wickets in 26 runs to be 47/5 in the 12th over but sensible batting by youngsters Karun Nair (53 not out) and Lokesh Rahul (38) set up the chase with a 66-run partnership.

4) Kumar Sangakkara to quit T20 format after World T20: Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara will retire from Twenty20 internationals after the ongoing World T20 in Bangladesh, the veteran left-hander told a newspaper on Sunday. The 36-year-old said he wanted to make way for younger players in the national team, but made himself available to play the shortest format in franchise-based competitions. "Definitely, without a doubt, this is my last World T20," Sangakkara told the Colombo-based Sunday Island newspaper. "I won't be playing any T20 internationals after this.

5) Bank unions seek five-day workweek: Apart from seeking early settlement of wage revision, the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) has renewed its appeal for introduction of five-day workweek and regulated working hours for officers. The issue was discussed in detail at a recent meeting with the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) in Mumbai. On its part, the UFBU said working hours could be increased by 45 minutes a day as most of the branches function for four hours on the weekend.

6) Election Commission asks political parties not to campaign on Holi:  The Election Commission has issued an advisory for all political parties asking them to refrain from campaigning on Holi, the festival of colours, in the backdrop of the upcoming polls. “There is a restriction on political parties on using festivals and religious occasions for their political support and means of campaigning. Do not campaign on Holi,” said Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath on Sunday. 

7) World Cup T20 2014 started: World Cup T20 2014 started at Bangladesh on Sunday. Host Bangladesh defeated Afghanistan by nine wickets in the opener.