Friday, August 15, 2014

Daily Current Affairs Updates: 13 August 2014

1) AIADMK's Thambidurai elected Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha: AIADMK leader M. Thambidurai was elected unopposed as Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha on Wednesday after all major parties, including Congress, extended support to his candidature. The 67-year-old AIADMK leader was the only candidate to file nominations for the post within the stipulated time with 11 parties in the ruling side and the opposition including BJP and Congress supporting him. The AIADMK leader was elected to the post after a motion, moved by Home Minister Rajnath Singh and seconded by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj supporting him, was carried by voice vote amid thumping of desks from all sides.

2) Arun Jaitley, Karan Singh and Sharad Yadav get outstanding Parliamentarian awards: President Pranab Mukherjee on 12 Aug 2014 conferred the Outstanding Parliamentary award to Karan Singh, JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav and Arun Jaitley. Presented by the Indian Parliamentary Group, the outstanding Parliament award for the year 2010, 2011, 2012 were given to Jaitley, Singh and Yadav respectively at the Balyogi Auditorium in Parliament Library. President said the award recognizes illustrious parliamentarians who have contributed significantly to strengthen the country's democratic traditions and enrich the Parliamentary system. He said that it honours the finest parliamentarians who have upheld the dignity of the House and have set exemplary precedents in Parliamentary conduct.

3) No Khel Ratna this year, 15 named for Arjuna Awards: No sportsperson has been named for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna while 15, including cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin, were recommended for the Arjuna Award this year. The 12-member selection committee, headed by legendary cricketer Kapil Dev, decided not to name any sportsperson out of the seven candidates for the Khel Ratna at a meeting. This is the third time no sportsperson has been named for the Khel Ratna since the inception of the country's highest sporting award in 1991. The Sports Ministry will examine 15 names recommended by the selection panel and it may drop or even add any sportsperson in the list for the Arjuna Award. The Arjuna Award consists of a statuette, a certificate, ceremonial dress, and a cheque of Rs 5 lakh. The award will be conferred on August 29, the National Sports Day.


4) Indian-origin mathematician Manjul Bhargava wins Fields Medal 'Nobel Prize' of maths: Two Indian-origin academicians have won prestigious global prizes in the field of mathematics with one of them being awarded the Fields Medal - known as the "Nobel Prize of mathematics". Manjul Bhargava won the Fields Medal while Subhash Khot won the Rolf Nevanlinna Prize, awarded by the International Mathematical Union (IMU), at the International Congress of Mathematicians 2014 held in Seoul. Manjul Bhargava, a professor of mathematics at Princeton University, was among the four winners who have been awarded the Fields Medal, given out every four years. Iranian-born mathematician and Stanford University professor Maryam Mirzakhani became the first woman to win the Fields Medal this year.

5) Real Madrid wins UEFA Super Cup: Moving on from a frustrating World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo began the new season as the last one ended for Real Madrid C.F. — with goals and a trophy. The Portugal forward netted both goals as the European champions convincingly overcame Europa League winner Sevilla with a 2-0 victory to collect the UEFA Super Cup.

6) Himachal Pradesh selected to host First Para-gliding World Cup in India: Paragliding World Cup Association selected Himachal Pradesh as a venue to host the 2015 para-gliding World Cup. This will be the first para-gliding World Cup to be hosted in India. The tournament will be organised under the aegis of Para-gliding World Cup Association, France. The information was disclosed by Urban Development Minister Sudhir Sharma, who is also Chairman of the Billing Paragliding Association on 13 August 2014.

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