Daily GK Potion – 8th and 9th March 2015

1. Renowned journalist Vinod Mehta dies of multi-organ failure
   • Senior journalist and former editor of Outlook, Vinod Mehta, passed away on Sunday.
   • Mehta breathed his last at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) where he was admitted. He died of multi-organ failure, AIIMS spokesperson Amit Gupta said.
   • Mehta was known for his bold journalism. He was the editor in chief of ‘Outlook’ magazine till February 2012.
   • Mehta had successfully launched Sunday Observer, Independent and Pioneer, apart from authoring the biographies of actress Meena Kumari and politician Sanjay Gandhi.
   • Mehta also authored a book on functioning of the Indian media titled – Lucknow Boy A Memoir.
     
2. Islamic State ‘demolishes’ ancient Hatra site in Iraq
   • Islamic State militants have destroyed ruins at the ancient city of Hatra.
   • A tourism and antiquities ministry official said the extent of the damage at the Unesco world heritage site was unclear, but he had received reports that it had been demolished.
   • Hatra was founded in the days of the Parthian Empire over 2,000 years ago.
   • Militants have recently bulldozed ruins at the Assyrian city of Nimrud and destroyed museum artefacts in Mosul.
3. ‘Aapki Beti Humari Beti’ scheme launched in Haryana
   • Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday launched a scheme for girl child – ‘Aapki Beti Humari Beti’.
   • The scheme aims to combat the problem of declining child sex ratio in the state.
   • The scheme was announced at a state-level function on the occasion of International Women’s Day at Panchkula.
   • The scheme will be implemented in both rural and urban areas of the state covering first-born girl child of Scheduled Caste (SC) and Below Poverty Line (BPL) families and all second girl child born on or after January 22, 2015 of all families.
   • Under this scheme, the first girl child born on or after January 22, 2015, in SC and BPL families will be eligible to receive Rs 21,000.
   • Similarly, all second girl child born on or after January 22, 2015 of all families will get Rs 21,000.
   • Families, where twin girls or multiple girls are born, will get Rs 21,000 per girl child.
   • Haryana Government also launched ‘Haryana Kanya Kosh’ for the welfare and development of girl child and women in the state.
     
4. All England Badminton Championship: Saina Nehwal loses to Carolina Marin
   • Carolina Marin Martin of Spain has won the prestigious Women’s Singles Title in the All England Open Badminton Championships 2015.
   • In the final match she defeated India’s Saina Nehwal by score of 14-21, 21-16, 21-7.
   • With this victory, Carolina Marin became the first Spanish player to win this prestigious title.
5. Sangakkara to retire after India Test series in August
   • Ace Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara has said he will retire from Test cricket “by the end of August” whe Sri Lanka hosts India in a three-match series.
   • The 37-year-old wicketkeeper has already announced retirement from One-Day International (ODI) and Twenty-20 cricket.
   • In 130 Tests, Sangakkara has 12,203 runs, which makes him the fifth highest scorer. Only Sachin Tendulkar (15,921), Ricky Ponting (13,378), Jacques Kallis (13,289) and Rahul Dravid (13,288) are above him in the elite list.
6. International Women’s Day 2015 observed with theme Make it Happen
   • International Women’s Day was observed across the world on 8 March 2015.
   • The theme for the year 2015 is Make it Happen and it encourages effective action for advancing and recognizing women. The theme was declared by United Nations
7. Kerala tourism wins Golden Gate award
   • The Department of Tourism in Kerala has won the Golden Gate Award at the Internationale Tourismus-Borse Berlin (ITB-Berlin) – 2015.
   • The award was presented to Kerala for its popular global multimedia campaign to promote the state’s backwaters.
   • The award was received by Kerala Tourism Secretary G Kamala Vardhana Rao and Joint Secretary in the Union Tourism Ministry Suman Billa.
8. Lalit Modi removed from Rajasthan Cricket Association
   1. Lalit Modi was “ousted” as the president of Rajasthan Cricket Association at a special general body meeting here on Monday with 17 votes against him and only one in his favour.
   2. With five disputed votes remaining in sealed covers, the Amin Pathan-led group, which had moved the no-confidence motion, had achieved the required three-fourth majority of the minimum attendance (23) to make a quorum, as per the requirements of the Rajasthan State Sports Act.

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