18 August 2018 - Daily Current Affairs
1. Asian Games begin in the Indonesian capital Jakarta
- The 18th edition of the Asian Games officially kicks off in Jakarta, Indonesian.
- Around 11,000 athletes (from 45 countries) is participating in 40 sports and 67 disciplines consisting of 28 Olympic sports, 4 new Olympic sports, and 8 non-Olympic sports.
- Renowned Indonesian singers like Anggun, Raisa and Tulus and a total of 4,000 dancers has performed at the ceremony.
- For the first time, eSports (a form of competition using video games) and canoe polo will be contested as demonstration sports.
- Javelin Thrower Neeraj Chopra is India's flag-bearer at the opening ceremony.
- Over 570 Indian athletes will be vying for top honours across 36 sports in Jakarta as well as in Palembang.
Note:
- The three mascots of the Games include - Bhin Bhin, Atung and Kaka, represent three aspects of the competitive games- Strategy, Speed and Strength.
2. 11th World Hindi Conference begins in Mauritius
- Prime Minister of Mauritius Praveen Kumar Jagannath has inaugurated the 11th World Hindi Conference (three-days) at ‘Swami Vivekanand International Convention Centre’, Pailles, Mauritius.
- The main theme of the Conference is ‘Hindi Vishwa Aur Bharatiy Sanskriti’.
- The first World Hindi Conference was held in 1975 in Nagpur, India.
Note:
- The main objective of the World Hindi Conference is to make the Hindi language a medium of service and knowledge and enable it to move forward with the time.
Appointments
3. PTI Chief Imran Khan takes oath as 22nd PM of Pakistan
- Former cricketer & Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan (65 years) has taken oath as the 22nd Prime Minister of the country.
- President Mamnoon Hussain administered the oath to Imran Khan at a ceremony held at the President House in Islamabad.
- Khan bagged 176 votes opponent and Chief of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Shehbaz Sharif managed to secure 96 votes.
- In 25th July 2018, The PTI had emerged as the single largest party with 116 seats in elections.
- The party has 158 members in the National Assembly after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) issued notifications of the successful candidates on the seats reserved for women and the minority community on August 11th.
Note:
- Mr Khan was educated at Aitchison College in Lahore, then the Royal Grammar School Worcester in Worcester, England, and later at Keble College, Oxford.
- In April 1996, Khan founded the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and became the party's national leader.
- The Prime Minister of Pakistan is the head of government of Pakistan and designated as the "chief executive of the Republic".
4. Nandula Raghuram elected as Chair of International Nitrogen Initiative
- Indian scientist & academician Nandula Raghuram has been elected as the Chair of the International Nitrogen Initiative (INI).
- He will succeed Mark Sutton of the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Edinburgh.
- Now, Raghuram becomes the first Indian and Asian to be elected to the Chair of INI.
- Recently he led the nitrogen side event at the 2018 meeting of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Note:
- The International Nitrogen Initiative (INI) has been set up in 2003 under the sponsorship of the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) and from the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP).
5. K S Srinivas appointed Chairman of Marine Products Export Development Authority
- IAS officer K S Srinivas has taken over as Chairman of Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA).
- Prior to this appointment, he had served as Joint Secretary in Department of Agriculture Cooperation and Farmers’ Welfare in Ministry of Agriculture.
Note:
- MPEDA is a nodal coordinating state-owned agency engaged in fishery production and allied activities.
- It was established in 1972 under Marine Products Export Development Authority Act (MPEDA), 1972.
6. Ibrahim Boubacar Keita re-elected Mali President
- Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (73-year) has been re-elected for a five-year term after winning a landslide in a runoff ballot.
- Mali is a linchpin state in the jihadist insurgency raging in the Sahel.
- Keita picked up 67.17% of the vote against 32.83% for opposition challenger and former finance minister Soumaila Cisse.
Honours & Awards
7. Ang Lee to be honoured by Directors Guild of America
- Oscar-winning director Ang Lee (63-year) will be one of the recipients of the annual Directors Guild of America (DGA) honours at its ceremony.
- The event will be held at the DGA Theatre in New York City on October 18.
- Fox Searchlight chairman Nancy Utley, US Senator Amy Klobuchar, SAG-AFTRA senior adviser John McGuire and costume designer Ann Roth will also be honoured at the ceremony.
National Affairs
8. Rajasthan to observe September as 'month of nutrition'
- According to the Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, the state will observe September as the “month of nutrition” to create awareness among people living in the state.
- From September, the students of the state will get milk on daily basis, for which additional funds of Rs 203 crore has been allocated.
Sports
9. Pakistan Cricketer Nasir Jamshed banned for 10 Years for spot-fixing
- The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has handed a 10-year ban to Nasir Jamshed.
- The ban was imposed by the board's Anti-Corruption Tribunal for his involvement in the spot-fixing row during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2016-17 season.
- He was banned for the second time in the last two years.
10. Cyclist creates history by claiming India's first ever medal
- Cyclist Esow Alben (17-years) has won India's first ever medal (silver medal) at the UCI Junior Track Cycling World Championships in Aigle, Switzerland.
- Alben hails from Andaman and Nicobar, trains in Delhi at the Sports Authority of India's National Cycling Academy.
- Esow finished just 0.017 seconds behind gold medallist Czech Republic's Jakub Stastny in the thrilling photo-finish of a race,