Daily Current Affairs of 1st September 2013

 Daily Current Affairs of 1st September 2013

International Affairs

• Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, who exposed the most extensive US global surveillance operations, has been awarded this year's German "Whistleblower Prize" worth USD 3,900 in absentia.
• US President Barack Obama says the US should take military action against Syria and he will seek congressional authorisation for intervention.
• Pope Francis has called for the world to unite in a day of fasting and prayer for Syria on Saturday and said "God and history" would judge anyone using chemical weapons.
• Adding its sixth destination in India, Malaysia Airlines will commence its operations on the Kochi-Kuala Lumpur route from tonight.

National Affairs

• Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today conveyed to Bhutan's newly-elected Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay that India will give Rs 5,000 crore financial assistance to Bhutan's 11th Five Year Plan from 2013 to 2018.
• Fifteen day long LadakhFestival, a cultural extravaganza begined in Leh today.
• India is expected to take up the issues of progress made in the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier project and pricing of the fifth generation fighter aircraft project during Defence Secretary R K Mathur's meeting with his Russian counterparts in Moscow on Monday.
• PranabMukherjee will inaugurate 8th Annual Convention of the Central Information Commission in New Delhi tomorrow
• PM Manmohan Singh to launch Gandhi Heritage Portal tomorrow.
•  Bolstering IAF's capability to swiftly transport combat troops and equipment such as tanks to the front, Defence Minister A K Antony will tomorrow formally induct its biggest 70-tonne C-17 heavy-lift transport aircraft into service at the Hindon Air Base in Delhi.

Appointments

• Afghan President Hamid Karzai has appointed Umar Daudzai as the acting Interior Minister of Afghanistan. Daudzai, currently Afghanistan's ambassador to Pakistan will replace Ghulam Mujtaba Patang against whom Afghan Parliament had passed no confidence motion in July this year.

Deaths

• Sir David Frost, the revered British broadcaster whose encounter with Richard Nixon led to an apology for the Watergate scandal, has died at the age of 74.
• Former Arunachal Pradesh minister Niani Natung died in a city hospital at Guwahati after a brief illness.

Science and Technology

• Scientists develop new delivery system for combination of two HIV drugs that may serve as an effective treatment for deadly virus.

Sports

• Led by their icon player Saina Nehwal, the Hyderabad Hotshots won the inaugural Indian Badminton League (IBL) title at the National Sports Club of India (NSCI) on Saturday.
• India to take on Pakistan in first match of South Asian Football Federation (#SAFF) championship in Kathmandu.
• BCCI Annual General Meeting to be held in Chennai on September 29. Jagmohan Dalmiya to remain BCCI interim chief till the Meeting.
• India retained its top position in the ICC ODI team rankings table while Virat Kohli remained the highest-ranked Indian batsman at the fourth spot in the latest list issued on Sunday.
• Indian hockey team end runners-up in Asia Cup after losing final 3-4 to SouthKorea.