Daily Current Affairs: 16 September 2014

1) Set back for BJP in bypoll results:  It was bad news for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Assembly by-elections in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat. These were the states that the BJP had swept in the Lok Sabha polls four months ago. The party which is ruling at the Centre lost 13 of the 24 seats held by it. Also, the polls were seen as yet another test of popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Reverses in the bypolls has come after the party's disappointing performance in the Assembly by-elections in Bihar, Uttarakhand, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh in the last two months.

2) International Day for preservation of Ozone Layer observed: The International Day for the preservation of the Ozone Layer was observed on 16 September 2014. The day marks the commemoration of the date of signing of the Montreal Protocol in 1987 on substances that deplete the Ozone layer. The theme for 2014 is Ozone Layer Protection: The Mission Goes On.

3) USA won FIBA Basketball World Cup 2014: USA on 14 September 2014 won FIBA Basketball World Cup 2014 by defeating Serbia. The World Cup was held at Madrid, Spain. The United States became the third country to win consecutive world titles and extended its winning streak in international play to 63 games. The win margin of 33 points through nine games with total score of 129-92 made the team of USA world Leader. With this, the American team became the first national team to win by more than 20 points in any previous FIBA championship event.

4) Ambani tops Hurun India Rich List again: The stock market boom and a slight strengthening of the rupee have helped drive up the number of dollar billionaires in the country to record highs, according to the Hurun India Rich List for 2014. The number has risen to 109, up from 63 last year and 59 the year before, according to the listings made available on Tuesday. Mukesh Ambani held on to his position as the richest man in India with a fortune of Rs.1.65 lakh crore, up 37 per cent from last year. 

5) Sachin Tendulkar Named for Giants International Awards: Cricket maestro and Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar and Bollywood danseuse Helen are among this year's Giants International awardees, according to an announcement. Tendulkar will get the award for lifetime achievement in sports while Helen Salim Khan will be honoured for her lifetime contribution to films. The awards shall be given away by the Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah at a function Wednesday. The other awardees include Urvi Piramal (Business & Industry), Hemant Thacker (Medicine), Kulinkant Luthia (Social Service), Bahubali Shah (Journalism), Anu Malik (Music) and Patangrao Kadam (Education).

6) Meghalaya boy wins bronze in World Kickboxing Championship: Edward Mawthoh, a junior from Meghalaya, has bagged a bronze medal at the World Kickboxing Championship 2014 held in Italy recently. Mawthoh competed in the 48kg category of the Under-16 full contact sports, which was held from September 6-14 at Rimini, where he bagged a bronze, Meghalaya Association of Kickboxing Organisations (MAKO) secretary Larry P Warjri said.