13th August 2014 - Daily Current Affairs updates

13th August 2014 - Daily Current Affairs updates

National Affairs

• With an aim to reduce transaction time at booking counters and  to provide more hassle-free services to railway users, the Minister of Railways, Shri S.D.Sadananda Gowda launched 'Go India' smart card' to enable passengers to pay for tickets for long or short distance journeys in reserved and unreserved class including suburban service.
• The average annual cost of maintenance of each flat in North and South Avenues meant for Members of Parliament is Rs 2.95 lakhs, Lok Sabha was informed today.
• The Lok Sabha today passed the Constitutional Amendment Bill to scrap the collegium system of appointing Supreme Court and High Court judges and cleared the National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2014 to regulate the procedure.
• The University Grants Commission (UGC) is implementing a number of schemes for educational empowerment of SCs, STs and minorities that include setting up of equal opportunity cells and scholarships.
• A Constitution Amendment Bill to facilitate establishment of a Commission to appoint judges to higher judiciary was moved tonight for consideration in the Rajya Sabha, hours after its passage in the Lok Sabha.

International Affairs

• Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki today said that a probe by the UN Human Rights Council will prove that Israel committed war crimes and violated humanitarian law during its Gaza offensive.
• Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki today said that he will not relinquish power until a federal court rules on what he called a "constitutional violation" by the president to replace him with a member of his own party.

Awards & Honors

• An Iranian-born mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani, has become the first woman to win a prestigious global prize known as the Field Medal, the International Congress of Mathematicians has announced.
• She has previously won the 2009 Blumenthal Award for the Advancement of Research in Pure Mathematics and the 2013 Satter Prize of the American Mathematical Society.
• Along with Maryam Mirzakhani, two mathematicians of Indian origin, Manjul Bhargava and Subhash Khot have also won this prestigious award (a total of 8 winners were there). 
• These Awards were announced at the inaugural of the 9-day International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) which began today at Seoul, Republic of Korea. The President of Korea, Park Geun-hye, gave away these awards.

Deaths

• Legendary actor Lauren Bacall (89), an icon of Hollywood’s golden age who lit up the silver screen in a series of classic movies opposite her husband Humphrey Bogart passed away.

New Appointments

• M Thambidurai, leader of AIADMK in Parliament, was unanimously elected as Lok Sabha's Deputy Speaker today, making him the first leader to occupy the post twice.
• Justices Abhay Manohar Sapre, R Banumathi, Prafulla Chandra Pant and Uday Umesh Lalit today assumed charge as Supreme Court judges, taking the apex court's strength to 30, including Chief Justice R M Lodha.

Science & Technology

• For the second day in a row, India on Wednesday successfully conducted trial of its indigenously developed surface-to-air 'Akash' missile, which has a strike range of 25 km, from a test range in Odisha as part of a user trial by the Air Force.

Sports

• The first bat and other playing gear and memorabilia of Donald Bradman - arguably the greatest batsman ever - will be showcased at an exhibition at the iconic Victoria Memorial Hall in Kolkata in 2015.