Daily GK Update 7 June 2014

1.    Prince Zeid al Hussein nominated as U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights 

i. U.N. secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has said he will appoint Jordan’s ambassador as the new high commissioner for human rights, bringing to that post a voice from the West Asia.

ii. The South African-born Ms. Pillay’s term as U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights was originally set to end in 2012 but was extended for two years.

iii. Prince Zeid, who has been ambassador to both the U.N. and the United States, announced in late April he would resign as U.N. ambassador.

iv. He was a candidate for U.N. Secretary-General back when Mr. Ban was chosen for the job. In his career, Prince Zeid has built a reputation as being strong on issues such as international justice and sexual violence.

2.    Poroshenko sworn in as Ukraine's president

i. Petro Poroshenko was sworn in as Ukraine's fifth post-Soviet president on Saturday, vowing to maintain the unity of his country amid a continuing crisis with Russia.

ii. Poroshenko, a 48-year-old billionaire who won the presidential election on May 25 with 54.7 percent of the vote, took the oath in the Ukrainian parliament in Kiev.

iii. "I am assuming the presidency in order to preserve and strengthen Ukraine's unity," Poroshenko said in an address that alternated between Ukrainian and Russian. 

iv. He also said that there would be no compromise with Russia on his pro-European stance and the status of the Crimean peninsula. "Crimea has been and will remain Ukrainian,

3.    Nabard cuts long-term refinance rates

i. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has reduced the interest rate on its long-term refinance facility to banks by 20 basis points to promote investments in agriculture.

ii. The new rates will be 9.5 per cent (9.7 per cent earlier) for 5 years and above and 9.7 per cent (9.9 per cent earlier) for 3-5 years.

iii. Banks availing themselves of more than Rs 500 crore in a single drawal will further be incentivised by 10 bps. The new rates are applicable from Friday, June 6, 2014. One basis point is equal to one-hundredth of a percentage point.

4.    India elected to UNESCO body for conserving cultural heritage 

i. India was on Wednesday elected for a second time to a UNESCO body, tasked with the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage.

ii. India won the election by a resounding 135 votes against a total of 142 votes cast by member states present at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. 
iii. India has been elected for the next four years from 2014 to 2018, according to a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs.

iv. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation's (UNESCO) Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage has 24 members who are elected for a term of four years. 

Note: This is the second time that India has been elected to the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, the earlier term being from 2006-2010

5.    Chinese Foreign Minister arriving in New Delhi tomorrow

i. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is arriving in New Delhi tomorrow on a two-day visit. This is the first high-level visit from China after the New Government was voted to power.

ii. During his two-day stay in India, the Chinese Foreign Minister will call on President Pranab Mukherjee and is likely to discuss issues of mutual interests.

iii. External Affairs Ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said, the visit is an important element of the Year of India-China Friendly Exchanges and will provide further momentum to the India-China Strategic and Cooperative Partnership.

6.    Madhuri Dixit is mascot for M.P. health campaign

i. The Madhya Pradesh government has appointed actor Madhuri Dixit as the brand ambassador for its Mamta Abhiyaan (maternal and child health) campaign.

ii. Ms. Dixit will kick off her campaign here on June 26 with an event organised in collaboration with Unicef’s Bhopal unit.

7.    Sanjay Kapoor appointed as Micromax Chairman

i. Sanjay Kapoor appointed as Micromax Chairman. Sanjay Kapoor was a former CEO of Bharti Airtel company.
ii. Sanjay was the chief executive officer for India and South Asia of Airtel from March 2010 till May 2013.
iii. Sanjay remained as one of the key executives in building Bharti Airtel from being one of the many players in the industry to making it a leading telecom player.

8.    French Open: Maria Sharapova enters third straight final

i. Maria Sharapova reached the final of the French Open for the third straight year at Roland Garros on Thursday, digging deep to see off the youthful challenge of Canada's Eugenie Bouchard.

ii. The 27-year-old, seventh seed once again did it the hard way, battling back from a set down to edge the 20-year-old from Montreal 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 in a match full of beefy baseline shot-making. 
iii. It was the 19th time in a row that the never-say-die Sharapova had won a three-set match on clay, dating back to a loss against Justine Henin at Roland Garros in 2010. 
iv. On Saturday she will take on the winner of the other semi-final opposing fourth seed Simona Halep of Romania and Andrea Petkovic of Germany. 

9.    French Open: Rafael Nadal to play Novak Djokovic in final

i. The world's top two players, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, will contest the French Open final following the Spaniard's 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 centre court demolition of Andy Murray.

ii. Earlier Djokovic had won through his semi-final with a 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win over Ernests Gulbis Of Latvia.

iii. Top seed and eight-time winner Nadal now stands just one win away from becoming the first man to take the French Open title five times in a row, surpassing Bjorn Borg.
iv. He also is on the cusp of a 14th grand slam title, which would put him level at second best on the all-time list with Pete Sampras and three behind Roger Federer.

10.  Irish Author Eimear McBride won Baileys Prize for fiction

i. Irish author Eimear McBride won the 2014 Bailey's Women's Prize for Fiction for her first novel A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing. 
ii. Other books on the shortlist were Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie'sAmericanah, Hannah Kent's Burial Rites, Jhumpa Lahiri's The Lowland, Audrey Magee's The Undertaking and Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch.
iii. McBride wrote the book when she was 27 and only found a publisher a decade later when the Galley Beggar Press paid her a 600 pound advance for what was then its second book.

11.  Anil Chopra took over as Commander-in-Chief of Western Naval Command

i. Vice Admiral Anil Chopra took over the charge of Western Naval Command (WNC) as Commander-in-Chief. He was appointed two months after Vice Admiral Shekar Sinha took voluntary retirement.
ii. Anil Chopra a graduate from National Defence Academy, Pune is second senior-most officer of the Indian Navy and only second officer to head both the operational commands – Eastern and Western Naval Command. 

12.  Mumbai Metro to begin operations tomorrow

i. The much-awaited Versova-Andheri- Ghatkopar phase of the Mumbai Metro rail will begin its operations from tomorrow.

ii. This was stated by Mumbai Metro CEO Abhay Kumar Mishra at a press conference in Mumbai today. He said the 11.4 km long Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar east-west corridor will have 12 stations en route on the elevated line. 

iii. The metro service comes four months after the city got the country’s first monorail between suburban Chembur and Wadala on February 1 this year.