18 April 2014 Current Affairs Updates

1) World Heritage Day observed: World Heritage Day 2014 was observed across the World on April 18 with the theme "Heritage of Commemoration".  The day also known as 'International Day for Monuments and Sites' is celebrated to promote awareness about their significance in life and to intensify the preservation efforts. As of Januray 2014, there are 981 World Heritage Sites across 160 countries in the world. On World Heritage Day, India got a special gift from the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation which on Friday put 15 additional sites located across the country in its tentative list of world heritage sites.

2) Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Nobel prize-winning author, died at 87: Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the Colombian novelist whose "One Hundred Years of Solitude" established him as a giant of 20th-century literature, died on Thursday at his home in Mexico City. He was 87. His death was confirmed by Cristobal Pera, his former editor at Random House. Garcia Marquez, who received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982, wrote fiction rooted in a mythical Latin American landscape of his own creation, but his appeal was universal. His books were translated into dozens of languages. He was among a select roster of canonical writers — Dickens, Tolstoy and Hemingway among them — who were embraced both by critics and by a mass audience. His other books include Chronicle of a Death Foretold (1981), Love in the Time of Cholera (1985), Autumn of the Patriarch (1975), The General in his Labyrinth (1989), Of Love and Other Demons (1994) and Living to Tell the Tale (2002).

3) Bouteflika wins 4th term as president of Algeria: Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, whose poor health forced him to vote from a wheelchair, has won a fourth term with 81.53 per cent of the votes, the Interior Minister announced on Friday. The 77-year-old incumbent’s main rival, Ali Benflis, received 12.18 per cent of the votes in a poll which saw 51.78 per cent of Algerians cast their ballots, Tayeb Belaiz told a news conference.

4) Ferrer ends Nadal’s run: Rafael Nadal’s 30-match winning streak on clay ended on Friday when the world No.1 was upset 7-6(1), 6-4 by fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in the ATP Monte Carlo Masters quarterfinals.

5) Maxwell powers Kings XI to easy win: Chennai Super Kings’ imposing 205 for four failed to intimidate Kings XI Punjab, who chased down the total with six wickets in hand and seven balls to spare in their Indian Premier League match at the Zayed cricket stadium on an oppressive Friday afternoon. Drifting dangerously at 52 for three early into the chase, the hour of reckoning produced the man for the crisis in the form of Glenn Maxwell, whose 43-ball 95 brought the Kings well within range of what had once seemed a distant target.

6) Rahane and Binny shine in Royals win: Rajasthan Royals, after restricting Sunrisers Hyderabad’s famed batting line-up to a modest 133 for six, survived a few anxious moments before overhauling the target with three balls and four wickets to spare in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Zayed Cricket Stadium here on Friday. Rising head and shoulders above the rest in the low-scoring contest was man-of-the-match Ajinkya Rahane, who anchored the innings with 59 off 53 balls before Stuart Binny’s unconquered 48 (32b, 4x4, 1x6) took Royals home. Binny held one end up even as wickets fell at regular intervals at the other.

7) Raj Singh is chef-de-mission for Commonwealth Games 2014: Raj Singh (Dronacharya awardee) has been appointed chef-de-mission for the 2014 Commonwealth Games to be held in Glasgow from July 23 to August 3, according to a press release from the Indian Olympic Association. Raja K.S. Sidhu, an International shooter, will be the deputy chef-de-mission.

8) EC launched Voter Educational Channel: The Election Commission has launched its own internet-based media arm called ‘Voter Education Channel’. Numerous video clips featuring iconic personalities urging citizens to vote have been uploaded on the channel and can be viewed on social media platform YouTube. While the first clip showcases a recorded speech of Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath asking voters to exercise their voting right, a number of other video links have sportpersons like M S Dhoni, Saina Nehwal and MC Mary Kom urging the young and the old to go for the most important right of an Indian citizen — that of the vote.

Voters can also view videos of EC brand ambassadors such as former President APJ Abdul Kalam and actor Aamir Khan on the e-link.

9) Vietnam Pulls out of Hosting Asian Games 2019: Vietnam has withdrawn as the host of the 2019 Asian Games, saying it lacked funds and the country's reputation could be at risk if the event flops.