DAILY GK UPDATE - 5th July : 1. Indian nurses freed from Iraq return to Kochi i. Air India special aircraft, AI 160, ferrying them along with the remaining 137 evacuees made a smooth touchdown at 11.52 a.m. as a motley crowd of relatives, friends, officials, and the media gathered outside the international terminal. ii. Emotions ran high in Cochin International Airport on Saturday as 46 Indian nurses briefly held hostage by ISIS militants arrived in a special Air India (AI) flight around noon. iii. The entire nation prayed for us. The prayers helped us return unscathed, said Marina Joseph, one of the abducted nurses. iv. Marina said the captors — whom many in the group termed bearded boys — never misbehaved with them. What really scared us was they always covered their faces. They often changed the guard (who kept watch on the nurses). So, it was tough to be friendly with them. v. Besides, language was a big problem. There was a Bangladeshi employee in the hospital (in Tikrit where the nurses worked) who knew Arabic. We used to travel with her, she added. v. A team of State officials led by chief minister Oommen Chandy was present at the airport sharing the joy. He attributed their smooth return to the deft and meticulous diplomacy of the Centre and State governments. “It’s a victory of Indian diplomacy,” thundered the leader. 2. Satya Nadella among 4 Indian-Americans felicitated in US on Independence Day i. Four Indian-Americans were among 40 people who were honoured for their contributions to the US in the annual great immigrants tribute in New York on the countrys Independence day. ii. Microsoft Corp chief executive Satya Nadella, comedian and actor Aasif Mandvi, Carnegie Mellon University president Subra Suresh and former president of the University of West Georgia, Beheruz Sethna were honoured along with 36 others, the Wall Street Journal reported. iii. Mumbai-born Mandvi first moved to England before migrating to the US when he was 16. He became famous as a correspondent on The Daily Show, where he was known for his satire on issues such as Islam, the Middle East and South Asia. iv. Suresh, who is an engineer and scientist, was born in Chennai and moved to the US to work on a postgraduate science degree, graduating in 1979. He is the ninth president of the Carnegie Mellon University. He served as director of the National Science Foundation from 2010 to 2013. Appointed by US President Barack Obama, he led the federal science agency in its mission to advance the fields of science and engineering research. v. Sethna was born in India in 1948 and served as the sixth president of the University of West Georgia ? the first Indian-American to lead a university in the US. 3. Goa Governor B V Wanchoo resigns i. B V Wanchoo on Friday resigned as Governor of Goa as government went about finalizing its plans for replacing the Governors appointed during the previous UPA regime. ii. 63-year-old Wanchoo sent his resignation after he received a call from Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami on Friday morning asking him to resign, official sources said. iii. The resignation of Wanchoo, a former chief of elite Special Protection Group, will be sent to President Pranab Mukherjee for acceptance. iv. A 1976-batch IPS officer, Wanchoos resignation came a few days after former National Security Advisor M K Narayanan quit from Governorship of West Bengal. v. Wanchoo was quizzed by CBI as a witness in connection with AgustaWestland deal bribery scandal as was Narayanan just before his resignation. 4. Nabard, SFAC ink deal to promote small farmers i. The National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) and the Small Farmers’ Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly implement schemes for the promotion of farm producer organisations (FPOs). ii. Under the deal, Nabard will leverage the benefits of the equity grant and credit guarantee fund for FPOs set up by SFAC to ensure that finance for producer companies flows smoothly, an Agriculture Ministry release said. iii. Nabard will also actively collaborate with SFAC at the national, State and district level by participating in the Food Security Mission. The bank said it had a fund of Rs. 50 crore for supporting such producer organisations. iv. Nabard would actively collaborate with the SFAC at the national, State and district level by participating in the Food Security Mission. Nabard said it has a fund of Rs. 50 crore for supporting producer organisations. 5. Senegal President Macky Sall sacks PM Ms Aminata Toure i. Senegal President Macky Sall has sacked Prime Minister Ms Aminata Toure after her ruling party was beaten in local elections. ii. 51-year-old Ms. Toure, heading the Alliance for the Republic, APR, was named Prime Minister last year and replaced incumbent Abdoul Mbaye in September.iii. Her departure comes less than a week after preliminary results from the June 29 local elections showed defeats for the APR in Dakar and a number of key cities across the country. 6. Germany beat France 1-0, reach fourth successive semifinal i. Mats Hummels first half header proved decisive as Germany marched into the semifinals of the FIFA World Cup for a record fourth time in a row with a 1-0 win over fellow European giants France in Rio De Janeiro on Friday. ii. The contest between the two European powerhouses lacked spark and Hummelss 13th minute strike spelt doom for France at the iconic Maracana stadium. iii. Germany keeper Manuel Neuer was also outstanding under the bar as he made two spectacular saves in each half to deny France the equaliser. iv. Neuer also made a last-second save when he pushed Karim Benzemas strong left-foot strike from the left to send his side into the World Cup semi-finals for fourth successive time. 7. Brazil seal World Cup semi-final spot i. A sensational David Luiz free kick took Brazil into the World Cup semi-finals with a 2-1 victory over Colombia but the tournament hosts saw star striker Neymar carried off in agony. ii. Brazil’s captain Thiago Silva will also be suspended for Tuesday’s semi-final against Germany after he followed up his first World Cup goal with his second yellow card of the tournament. iii. Brazil are in the World Cup semi-finals for the first time in 12 years and coach Luiz Felipe Scolari is one step nearer his vow to win the cup for a sixth time. iv. But Scolari buried his head in his hands when he saw Silva booked and faces an anxious wait for news of Neymar who was reportedly taken to hospital for tests. v. Neymar was stretchered off with a back injury after being clattered by Colombia defender Juan Camilo Zuniga. Globo television said the Brazilian star was taken away in an ambulance. 8. In Wimbledon, Petra Kvitova to clash with Eugenie Bouchard for Women’s Singles title i. Sixth seeded Czech player Petra Kvitova will clash with Eugenie Bouchard of Canada for the Womens Singles title at Wimbledon today. ii. In the semis, 20-year-old Bouchard defeated third seed Simona Halep of Romania to enter the final of the prestigious Grand Slam for the first time whereas Kvitova beat Czech compatriot Lucie Safarova. iii. In Mens Singles, Swiss grass court giant Roger Federer has set up title clash with top seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia after defeating Milos Raonic of Canada in the semi final Friday. iv. Indias Leander Paes and his Czech partner Radek Stepanek crashed out of the semi finals of the Mens Doubles.
Posted on: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 04:10:09 +0000
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