14th August 2014 - Daily Current Affairs updates

14th August 2014 - Daily Current Affairs updates

National Affairs

• President Pranab Mukherjee addressed the nation on the eve of 68th Independence Day.
• In a major setback to the smokers, the Supreme Court today issued notice to the Centre and all states on a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a ban on cigarettes and bidis in the country.
• Two Kolhapur women, who were sentenced to death in 2001 for kidnapping 13 children and killing nine of them, may become the first women ever to be hanged in India. The buffer period before their hanging - time taken by the state home department to inform all concerned after receiving the note from Rashtrapati Bhavan - ends on Saturday.
• Sher Singh Rana, the lone convict in the sensational murder of bandit-turned-politician Phoolan Devi in New Delhi in 2001, was on Thursday awarded life imprisonment by a Delhi court which also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on him.
• Notwithstanding  reservations of judiciary,  Parliament Thursday cleared two bills providing for a  new mechanism for appointment of judges to higher judiciary by scrapping the collegium system that had come under attack from political parties and others.
• Petrol will become cheaper by Rs 2.18 a litre in Delhi and up to Rs 2.38 in some cities on the Independence Day, bringing its pump prices to the lowest in one year, as the fuel slumped in international markets. 
• The Supreme Court today allowed participation of children above 12 years of age in ‘Dahi Handi’ festival by keeping in suspension the Bombay High Court order.
• With an aim to reduce transaction time at booking counters, Railways today launched ‘Go India’ smart card to enable passengers to pay for tickets for long or short distance journeys in reserved and unreserved class including suburban service.
• Important details you should know abut "Go India Smart Card"

1. Six stations on New Delhi-Howrah sector including New Delhi, Kanpur, Allahabad, Dhanbad, Asansol and Howrah have counters for use of this smart card, while six other counters for use of this service will be available in New Delhi-Mumbai sector.
2. Similar to the smart card operational in Metro service
3. The card can be issued by paying Rs 70 where passenger can get Rs 20 balance at the designated station.
4. After that the card can be recharged for Rs 20 or in multiples of Rs 50 up to Rs 5,000.
5. Maximum limit of the ‘Go India’ card is being kept at Rs 10,000. The smart card has lifetime validity.

International Affairs
Pope Francis is on a visit to South Korea to beatify 124 Korean martyrs and encourage the faithful in a church seen as a model for the future of Catholicism. He becomes the first pontiff in 25 years to visit South Korea.
An agreement between Israel and Hamas had decided to extend the temporary truce in Gaza for five more days, Egypt has said today.
The Ebola virus killed 56 people in just two days, bringing the global death toll to 1,069, the World Health Organization announced.


Business & Economy
The Reserve Bank of India today cut number of free transactions at ATMs of other banks in metros to 3 from 5 a month. You have to pay Rs. 20 on additional use of such third party ATMs.
Apple is banning the use of two potentially hazardous chemicals (benzene and n-hexane) during the final assembly of iPhones and iPads as part of the company’s latest commitment to protect the factory workers who build its trendy devices.