DAILY GK UPDATE - 5th June 2014

1.    Sumitra Mahajan to be New Lok Sabha Speaker

i. BJP leader Sumitra Mahajan will be the Speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha with senior leaders from all parties, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, moving motions on Thursday proposing her name for the high office.

ii. Ms. Mahajan’s was the only name that was proposed as the time for filing nomination for the post came to a close at noon on Thursday. The formal election will take place on Friday.

iii. The 72-year-old Ms. Mahajan is an eight-term Lok Sabha member from Indore and has worked for long in the panel of Chairperson of the House.

iv. Ms. Mahajan, lovingly called ‘Tai’, is known for her amicable nature and has her friends and admirers in all parties

2.    World Environment Day being celebrated today

i. The world is celebrating the World Environment Day today.

ii. This day is to mark the anniversary of United Nations Conference on Human Environment in the year 1972 in Stolkholm.This year's theme is about small Island Nation States.

iii. The World Environment Day is a time to raise awareness to take positive environmental action to protect nature and planet Earth. 
iv. It was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972 on the day that United Nations Conference on the Human Environment began. 
v. The first World Environment Day was celebrated in 1973. 
vi. The theme this year is on 'Small Islands and Climate Change . The small island nations are most vulnerable to climate-induced sea level rise and natural disasters. 
vii. The slogan for this year is Raise Your Voice Not The Sea Level. and it highlights the need to mainstream the discourse and action on the future of Small Island Developing States by being heard loudly and clearly.

3.    Congress appoints Capt. Amrinder Singh as its deputy leader in LS

i. Congress today appointed Captain Amrinder Singh as its deputy leader in the Lok Sabha. Giving this information to media persons in New Delhi, party spokesperson Shobha Ohza said Mr Jyotiraditya Scindia has been appointed as the Chief Whip of Congress in the House. Mr Venugopal and Mr Dipender Singh Hooda will function as whips, she said.

4.    12th Agri Science Congress to be held in Karnal in Feb

i. The 12th Agricultural Science Congress to be organised by the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) will be held in Karnal, Haryana, on February 3-6 next year.

ii. The theme of the Congress is Sustainable Livelihood Security for Small Holder Farmers’, said S. Ayyappan, President, NAAS, at its foundation day celebration, here on Thursday.

5.    AAP's senior leader Damania quits party posts

i. Activist-turned-politician and senior Aam Aadmi Party leader from Maharashtra, Anjali Damania who unsuccessfully contested against former BJP president Nitin Gadkari from Nagpur Lok Sabha seat has quit party posts. AAP leader Mayank Gandhi said, she has only quit party posts.

6.    Ab de Villiers named South African Cricketer of the Year

i. A.B. de Villiers dominated the Cricket South Africa Awards banquet by bagging four awards, including Cricketer of the Year 2014, in Johannesburg on Wednesday evening.

ii. De Villiers was also named Test Cricketer of the Year, was recognised by his peers as SA Players’ Player of the Year and by popular vote of the public, SA Fans’ Cricketer of the Year.

iii. The only award for which De Villiers was nominated but did not win was the ODI Player of the Year which went to Quinton de Kock, who scored four centuries in the period under review including three in consecutive innings.

iv. Imran Tahir was named T20 International Player of the Year, paceman Dale Steyn won the Delivery of the Year and veteran Jacques Kallis won the KFC ‘So Good’ Award for his century in his final Test match appearance against India.

v. Marizanne Kapp was named Momentum Women’s Cricketer of the Year for the second successive year

7.    ICC ODI rankings: India slips to 3rd spot; Virat No.1 batsman

i. India has slipped to the third position in the latest ICC ODI team rankings after Australia and Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan team eclipsed India with its 3-2 win over England in the latest ODI series.
ii. Virat Kohli has retained his position as number one ODI batsman while Saeed Ajmal is the top bowler. Latest ICC ODI rankings were released in Dubai today.
iii. Australia leads the ICC ODI table with 115 points .Sri Lanka and India have same 112 points, but Sri Lanka has edged past Indian on the basis of decimal points to secure the second position. 

iv. Among the batsmen, Virat Kohli is at number one followed by South Africa’s A B Devilliers and Australia’s George Bailey.
v. Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is placed sixth while Shikhar Dhawan is ranked eighth.

vi. Saeed Ajmal leads the pack of bowlers followed by Dale Steyn and Sunil Narine. Ravindra Jadeja is placed fifth while Ashwin is at 15th place in the rankings. In the all-rounder’s list, Pakistan’s Mohammed Hafeez is at the top followed by Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews.

8.    Delhi's IGI is 6th best airport in the world

i. For the third year in a row, Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi has been adjudged the second best airport in the world for its service quality among airports handling 25-40 million passengers per annum
ii. Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport was placed at fifth position in this category by the Airport Council International,ACI.

iii. ACI is a global body of airports which represents their interests with governments and international organisations. It covers 1,751 airports in 174 countries.
iv. However, in the global ranking, IGI this year was placed at the sixth position against last year's fourth.