1.
FIFA
World Cup 2014 to begin today
i. The wait for the Football World Cup 2014 is almost over.
The much-awaited grand kick-off in Sao Paulo is just a couple of hours away.
The opening Pool-A encounter between hosts Brazil and Croatia which will begin
at 1:30 AM Indian Time.
ii. It will be preceded by a grand opening ceremony at the Arena Corinthians featuring live performances from some of the biggest stars of the world. The ceremony will take place around a glowing spherical centerpiece symbolizing a soccer ball.
iii. Made of 90,000 light clusters, the ball will have a total luminance of 7,000 Lux. Around 600 artists, including acrobatic gymnasts, martial arts-style performers and stilt walkers will also take part in the event.
iv. Thirty two teams have been divided into 8 groups. The opening or the group stage will be a round-robin competition, and top two teams of each group will advance to the knock-out stage.
v. So, this is it! The FIFA World Cup is here! 32 teams, having world's top players, are all set to battle it out for that prestigious Gold Cup, the dream of every football player.
vi. With the opener slated between hosts Brazil and Croatia, what better one could have asked for. This is a match between the South American hot favourites and an emerging European nation, the second best team in Pool-A.
ii. It will be preceded by a grand opening ceremony at the Arena Corinthians featuring live performances from some of the biggest stars of the world. The ceremony will take place around a glowing spherical centerpiece symbolizing a soccer ball.
iii. Made of 90,000 light clusters, the ball will have a total luminance of 7,000 Lux. Around 600 artists, including acrobatic gymnasts, martial arts-style performers and stilt walkers will also take part in the event.
iv. Thirty two teams have been divided into 8 groups. The opening or the group stage will be a round-robin competition, and top two teams of each group will advance to the knock-out stage.
v. So, this is it! The FIFA World Cup is here! 32 teams, having world's top players, are all set to battle it out for that prestigious Gold Cup, the dream of every football player.
vi. With the opener slated between hosts Brazil and Croatia, what better one could have asked for. This is a match between the South American hot favourites and an emerging European nation, the second best team in Pool-A.
2.
Vishal Sikka to be Infosys CEO
i. Infosys on Thursday named former SAP executive board member Vishal Sikka
as its new chief executive officer, the first time the nation's second-largest
software services exporter will have a non-founder as CEO.
ii. Sikka, 47, will replace
S D Shibulal, one of the seven engineers who founded Infosys in 1981, from
August 1, Infosys said in a statement.
iii. Also, the firm's Executive Chairman N R Narayana Murthy and Executive Vice Chairman S Gopalakrishnan will step down on June 14.
iv. Murthy will be designated as chairman emeritus from October 11.
v. Sikka, who will also be the company's MD, quit SAP in May. He comes in at a time when Infosys has had four straight years of narrowing margins.
vi. Besides, almost a dozen senior executives have left since last year when co-founder Murthy returned as chairman.
iii. Also, the firm's Executive Chairman N R Narayana Murthy and Executive Vice Chairman S Gopalakrishnan will step down on June 14.
iv. Murthy will be designated as chairman emeritus from October 11.
v. Sikka, who will also be the company's MD, quit SAP in May. He comes in at a time when Infosys has had four straight years of narrowing margins.
vi. Besides, almost a dozen senior executives have left since last year when co-founder Murthy returned as chairman.
3.
Gujarat gets approval to raise height of Narmada dam
i. In a major boost to Gujarat which has been regularly
facing water woes due to deficient rains, Chief Minister Anandiben Patel on
Thursday announced that they have got approval to raise the height of Narmada
dam to 138.72 metres (455 feet).
ii. The Narmada Control Authority (NCA) has given the approval
to raise the height of the dam to 138 metres," Patel said in Junagadh
while she was there to attend a function.
iii. The decision of the NCA comes just a few days after Narendra Modi took over as the Prime Minister of the country.
iii. The decision of the NCA comes just a few days after Narendra Modi took over as the Prime Minister of the country.
iv. The decision to raise the height of the dam comes after eight
years. The foundation stone of the dam was laid by country's first Prime
Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on April 5, 1961.
v. The project, however, got embroiled in controversy over issues of displacement of project-affected people. However, the Supreme Court had earlier given the approval for the project to raise the height of the dam to 138.72 metres.
v. The project, however, got embroiled in controversy over issues of displacement of project-affected people. However, the Supreme Court had earlier given the approval for the project to raise the height of the dam to 138.72 metres.
4. Dhoni ranked 22nd in Forbes' world’s highest paid
athletes list
i. Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the
lone Indian sportsman to figure in Forbes’ list of world’s 100 highest paid
athletes.
ii. The list is being been topped by American boxer Floyd
Mayweather and includes golfer Tiger Woods and tennis stars Roger Federer and
Rafael Nadal.
iii. Dhoni is ranked 22nd in the list with total earnings of
$30 million and endorsements worth $26 million.
iv. Nadal is ranked ninth on the list with earnings of
$44.5 million.
v. The list also includes tennis player Novak Djokovic on
the 17th rank with earnings of $33.1 million, tennis star Maria Sharapova (34),
Jamaican runner Usain Bolt (45), tennis player Serena Williams (55) and German
Formula One racing driver Sebastian Vettel (83).
5. Kolkata Airport bagged Service Quality Award
i. Kolkata
Airport won the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Award by Airport Council
International (ACI) in the category of the best improved airport in Asia
Pacific Region. The category includes airports that have experienced the
biggest improvement in ASQ rating between 2012 and 2013 in their region.
ii. Apart from this, the Airport Council International conducted
airport service quality survey at 11 major airports of AAI including Ahmedabad,
Calicut, Chennai, Goa, Guwahati, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Pune, Srinagar and
Trivandrum. On average ASQ rating, it
rated airports managed by AAI 4.14 which is above world average of 4.04 between
1 January and 31 March 2014.
6. Biography of Dilip Kumar entitled The Substance and
the Shadow released
i. The
Substance and the Shadow, the biography of 91-year-old-thespian Dilip Kumar was
released on 10 June 2014 in Mumbai by Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra and Aamir
Khan.
ii. The biography in
form of memoir has been penned by Uday
Tara Nayar, a former journalist.
iii. The book has detailed the ups and downs of the legend of
Bollywood who was born as Mohammad Yusuf Khan and adopted the screen name of
Dilip Kumar
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