Udaipur set to host India's largest education Brainstorm

NATIONAL NEWS

Texfair 2019 opens in Coimbatore

• The 12th edition of TexFair, a four-day expo on textile machinery, accessories, spares and services, will open on August 9 at the Codissia Trade Fair Complex.
• Around 250 exhibitors have registered to display their products/ services in 320 stalls at the biennial expo, organised by the Southern India Mills Association (SIMA).

AP Home Minister flags off riot control vehicle 'Vajra'

• Arunachal Pradesh State Home Minister Bamang Felix flagged of Five Anti-Riot police vehicle, also known as Vajra, from Police Headquarter in Itanagar. This is the first set of anti-riot vehicles introduced in the state police department.
• These vehicles come with special features for quick response, automatic multi-barrel launchers for tear gas, with a capacity of 12 persons and a battery backup for long hours stuck in the rioting crowd.

FACTS

Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh-Pema Khandu

Governor of Arunachal Pradesh-B.D. Mishra

Udaipur set to host India's largest education Brainstorm

• The third edition of India's largest education brainstorming event, the ScooNews Global Educators Fest (SGEF) will be held on August 09 and 10 in Udaipur- the City of Lakes.
• It will bring together over 500 educators to discuss the way towards establishing India as the next global education powerhouse.
• The theme for this year's fest is 'Education for Sustainability: Moving on from conformity to creativity'

2nd All India annual conference of IIS officers held in New Delhi

• 2nd All India Annual Conference of IIS Officers was held in New Delhi on Monday.  Over 150 senior IIS officers from across the country attended the conference.
• The conference discussed about integrated communication approaches, regional expansion of social media, and impact assessment of Govt communication.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Australian Super, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan to invest $2 billion through NIIF

• Australian Super, Australia’s largest superannuation fund, and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (Ontario Teachers’), Canada’s largest single-profession pension plan, have each signed agreement for investments of up to $1 billion with National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) of India’s Master Fund.
• The agreements include commitments of $250 million each in the Master Fund and co-investment rights of up to $750 million each in future opportunities alongside the Fund.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

NASA satellite uncovers 'first nearby super-Earth'

• Scientists have characterised the first potentially habitable world outside our own solar system located about 31 light-years away.
• The super-Earth planet — named GJ 357 d — was discovered in early 2019 owing to NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), a mission designed to comb the heavens for exoplanets, according to the research published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Artificial Intelligence used to detect fast radio bursts

• Scientists have developed an automated system that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to detect and capture fast radio bursts (FRBs) in real-time.
• FRBs are mysterious and powerful flashes of radio waves from space, thought to originate billions of light years from the Earth, said researchers from Swinburne University of Technology in Australia.

RESIGN

Dale Steyn retires from Test cricket after 439 wickets from 93 matches

• South Africa pacer Dale Steyn has announced his decision to retire from Test cricket. Steyn, 36, played 93 Tests from 2004 to 2019 and picked 439 wickets.
• Steyn, who played his first Test against England at Port Elizabeth in December 2004, also played his last Test at the same venue (against Sri Lanka on February 2019).

SPORTS

Vinesh Phogat wins 3rd successive gold in 53kg in Poland Open

• Star India grappler Vinesh Phogat has bagged her third consecutive gold in women's 53kg category after winning the Poland Open wrestling tournament in Warsaw.
• Vinesh had earlier beaten Sofia Mattson of Sweden, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist, in the quarterfinals of this international tournament.
• The top Indian woman wrestler had stood atop the podium at Grand Prix of Spain and at the Yasar Dogu International at Istanbul, Turkey last month.

Aamir Khan launches Mission Shakti sports initiative

• Aamir Khan attended the launch function of Mission Shakti, an initiative by Maharashtra minister Sudhir Mungantiwar to train athletes from Chandrapur and Gadchiroli for internationalevents like the Olympics.

FACTS

CM of Maharashtra-Devendra Fadnavis

Governor of Maharashtra- CH Vidyasagar Rao.

R Ashwin named PCA Player of the Month for consistent county performances

• India off-spinner R Ashwin has been named as Professional Cricketers Association's (PCA) Player for the month of July 2019 for his consistent performances in the county championships.
• R Ashwin represented Nottinghamshire and played 3 matches for them before heading to Tamil Nadu Premier League T20 competition.