5th August 2014 - Daily Current Affairs updates

5th August 2014 - Daily Current Affairs updates



National Affairs

1. A poem from Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s masterpiece The Gitanjali was recited by Indian Ambassador to the U.N. Asoke Kumar Mukerji as part of a commemorative ceremony held to mark 100 years of the outbreak of the World War I.
2. Facing about Rs 3,500 crore losses this season, cash-starved private sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh today threatened to shut down operations in the 2014-15 season if the state government does not link cane price with sugar realisation like some other states.
3. Over 27 lakh commuters traveled in the Delhi Metro on Monday (4th August 2014), the highest ridership till date. 

International Affairs

1. As the Ebola virus continues to spread in West Africa, governments and health officials are implementing emergency measures, travel advisories, and a $100-million plan that will deploy hundreds of additional health workers to outbreak hot spots.
2. The World Bank on Monday pledged as much as $200 million in emergency funding to help three West African nations fight the deadly Ebola epidemic following requests from the World Health Organization and officials from the three countries.
3. The World Health Organization says the death toll from the worst record outbreak of Ebola has reached 887, an increase of 158 since the global health body released figures on July 31.
4. Mr. Hakuban Shimomura, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan met the Minister for Human Resource Development, Smt. Smriti Irani today. Both countries agree to further strengthen cooperation in education.

MOUs

• Prasar Bharati and German public service broadcaster, Deutsche Welle sign MoU for distribution of DD India overseas

Books & Authors

• Indian Author Chetan Bhagat's new book 'Half Girlfriend' is due for release this October 

Business and Economy

1. RBI keeps key interest rate unchanged; reduces SLR by 0.5% to 22%; keeps inflation target at 8% by January 2015, 6% by January 2016. Check the Highlights of RBI Third Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement 2014-15 from here.
2. The Competition Appellate Tribunal today upheld an order passed against National Stock Exchange (NSE) by fair trade regulator CCI, which had found the bourse guilty of abusing its dominant market position in currency derivatives segment and had fined it Rs 55.5 crore.