Current Affairs 3rd - 4th August 2014

Current Affairs 3rd - 4th August 2014

Updated : 23-Aug-2014

Current Affairs 3rd-4th August 2014 - Important Points
Current Affairs 3rd-4th August 2014 - Details
New species of Australian humpback dolphins identified
Scientists identified a new species of Australian humpback dolphin with the scientific name Sousa Sahulensis. The Australian humpback dolphins are a widespread group of coastal cetaceans ranging from the coast of West Africa to the northern coast of Australia.

The authors of the study were Thomas A. Jefferson of Clymene Enterprises and Howard C. Rosenbaum of the Wildlife Conservation Society. The study of WCS was published on 1 August 2014 in the online edition of the journal Marine Mammal Science.
India finished 5th with 64 medals in 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games
On 3rd August 2014, 20th Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2014 were concluded at Hampden Park stadium in Glasgow, Scotland. Games were concluded after a span of 11 days from 23rd July 2014 to 3rd August 2014.
Total of 4929 athletes from 71 countries and territories of the erstwhile British Empire participated in this competition.
India in CWG 2014 :
India ranked 5th place in CWG 2014. India won total of 64 medals. Indian players clinched 15 Gold medals, 30 Silver medals and 19 Bronze medals in the games. On closing ceremony, the Indian contingent's flag bearer was Seema Punia, who won Silver in women's discus throw. While, the torch bearer in the opening ceremony was ace shooter Vijay Kumar, the 2012 London Olympics Silver medalist.
England ranked number one with 58 Gold, 59 silver and 57 Bronze medals. Australia was on second position, Canada on third and Scotland was on 4th position.

Do you Know ?
The 21st Commonwealth Games will be held in Gold Coast in Australia.
Union Ministry set up Hari Gautam Committee to review the status of UGC
On 3rd August 2014, The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) set up a four member committee headed by former UGC chairman Hari Gautam to review the present status of Universities Grants Commission (UGC). The committee will suggest ways to restructure and reorganise the panel to attain better performance in order to meet desired objectives. The committee will submit its report in six months.
Other members of the committee are :
- CM Jariwala, former dean of law, Banaras Hindu University,
- Kapil Kapoor, former Pro-Vice Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University,
- RP Sisodia, Joint Secretary (higher education).
Ramon Magsaysay Award 2014 announced
The prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Awards for year 2014 were announced. Following were the six winners of awards :
1. Saur Marlina Manurung (Indonesia) : She put up a Jungle School program for children of Indonesia's Orang Rimba, or forest people.
2. Randy Halasan (The Philippines) : He put in huge efforts in teaching the children of the Matigsalug tribe in one of the remotest mountain villages in Mindanao.
3. Hu Shuli (China) : He is a Chinese investigative journalist whose work has led to the ouster of corrupt officials.

4. Omara Khan Masoudi (Afghanistan) : Masoudi was awarded for his courage in protecting Afghan cultural heritage.
5. The Citizen Foundation (Pakistan) : This NGO was recognized for building 1,000 schools over hundreds of cities and towns in the country.
6. Wang Canfa (China) : Wang Canfa founded the Center for Legal Assistance to Pollution Victims, which has offered free legal services to thousands of people and provided environmental law training to lawyers and others.
Ramon Magsaysay Awards :
Ramon Magsaysay Awards were established in 1957 and are named after popular Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay who died in a 1957 plane crash. These awards are often known as the "Nobel Prize of Asia". These awards are only given to personalities from Asia.
Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi visited Nepal
Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi concluded two day visit to Nepal on 4th August 2014. During the visit, Prime Minister addressed the Nepalese Parliament. Narendra Modi was welcomed by the guard of honour. Prime Misiter of India also offered puja at the famous 5th century Pashupatinath temple on the second and last day of his maiden visit to Nepal.
This was the first bilateral meet between India and Nepal in 17 years. Modi was assisted with a team of 101 delegates including several ministers accompanying him.
The Prime Minister announced that India will give Nepal 10000 crore Nepali rupee concessional line of credit, for its development.
Defence Ministry not to blacklist Rolls-Royce
On 3rd August 2014, The Union Defence Ministry of India allowed armed forces to do business related to essential requirements with the Rolls Royce. This follows the Attorney General's opinion which favoured that IAF and the Navy can procure systems essential for their maintenance and operational requirements of the two services.
The IAF and Navy operate several aircraft including the C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft, SeaKing multirole helicopters, Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer Aircrnaft and the Jaguar fighter aircraft which fly on Rolls Royce engines.
In March 2014, the Union Defence Ministry had put on hold all the deal with the British engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce over the allegations of corruption in contract with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and had ordered a CBI probe into Rolls- Royce's alleged hiring of middlemen in contracts with HAL, with which the British firm has transacted business of over Rs 10,000 crore in the past.