Important Current Affairs of 7th August

NATIONAL:

Former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj passed away

• Former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, 67 years old, passed away on 6th August. She suffered a cardiac arrest and passed away at AIIMS. She underwent a kidney transplant in 2016.

Sushma Swaraj Career:

Sushma Swaraj was educated at Sanatan Dharma College in Ambala Cantonment. She earned a bachelor's degree with majors in Sanskrit and Political Science. She studied law at Punjab University, Chandigarh.

Political Career:

Swaraj's political career started at her age of 25 in 1977. She became the youngest cabinet minister in Haryana in 1977. She served as the 5th Chief Minister of Delhi from 13th October to 3rd December 1998. She was a seven-time Member of Parliament. She served as MLA for three terms.

• Sushma Swaraj won from Vidisha constituency in Madhya Pradesh for a second term in 2014. Swaraj took charge as Foreign Minister on 26th May, 2014. After Indira Gandhi, she was the second woman to hold the External Affairs Ministry. She was popularly known as the People’s Minister. She introduced a new sensitivity and sensibility in the functioning of the External Affairs Ministry.

President Ram Nath Kovind gives assent to the abrogation of article of Jammu and Kashmir

• President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the abrogation of Article 370.It will now revoke the special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The resolution to revoke Article 370 was passed by Lok Sabha on 6 August. It was passed by Rajya Sabha on 5th August.

The notice issued by the President said that as from 6th August, 2019, all clauses mentioned in Article 370.

• President's approval notification:

President approved the Bill in exercise of the power conferred by clause (3) of article 370 read with (1) of article 370 of the Constitution of India. The notification also said that all provisions of this Constitution, as amended from time to time, without any modifications or exceptions, shall apply to the State of J&K. It will not not with stand anything contrary contained in article 152 or article 308 or any other article of the Constitution or any other provision of the Constitution of J&K or any law, document, judgement, ordinance, order, by-law, rule, or agreement as envisaged under article 363 or otherwise.

India's Naaz Joshi won Miss World Diversity 2019

• Naaz Joshi made the country proud with a third successive victory in the beauty pageant Miss World Diversity.  She competed against 14 other international contestants in Mauritius.

She dressed up in blue lehenga and choli and portrayed herself as the powerful Indian Goddess, who stands for 'shakti' - the feminine source of power and women empowerment.

She is a resident of Malviya Nagar, New Delhi. She was sent to her relative's house in Mumbai.

Rajasthan passes bill against honour killing

• Rajasthan State Legislative Assembly passed the Rajasthan Prohibition of Interference with the Freedom of Matrimonial Alliances in the Name of Honour and Tradition Bill, 2019 on 5th August. The Bill was introduced by the Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal. The Bill aims to curb incidents of honour killing in the State.

Provisions of the Bill:

♦ The Bill provides punishment of life imprisonment or death penalty for murdering couples in the name of family honour

♦ If the community or family cause death of a couple or either of them, on the grounds of dishonour or disrepute to the caste, community or family will be punished with death or life imprisonment and a penalty of maximum Rs.5 Lakh

♦ If the couple is grievously hurt, the community or the family will be punished with 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for life with a penalty of maximum Rs.3 lakh

♦ Incase of simple injuries, the community or the family will be punished with 3-5 years of imprisonment with a penalty of maximum Rs.2 lakh

♦ The Bill also said that the District or Sub Divisional Magistrate shall receive information or request from any person who seeks protection from any unlawful assembly or person who objects lawful marriage

♦ The Bill also says that a group can not assemble with an intention to  condemn any lawful marriage in the name of vindicating the honour of family, caste or community. Participating in such groups directly or indirectly will be punished with maximum 5 years of imprisonment and a penalty of maximum Rs.1 lakh.

DAYS:

National Handloom Day is observed on 7th August

The National Handloom Day is observed on 7th August every year. To mark the occasion, the nation holds a function at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. The function will be presided by the Union Minister of Textiles and Women and Child Development, Smriti Zubin Irani. The Day is observed at Weavers’ Service Centres in different States.

Odisha's rich tradition:

The main events are to be held in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Bhubaneswar has been chosen for its rich tradition of Handlooms.

Aim:

The Day aims to honour the Indian handloom weavers and also highlight India's handloom industry. It also aims to empower women and girls as they are the majority total weavers population of India. The day focuses on the contribution of handloom to the socio economic development of the country. It seeks to increase the income of weavers.

INTERNATIONAL:

Bangladesh signed an agreement with Russia for uranium supply

• Bangladesh signed a nuclear fuel supply agreement with Russia for the uranium supply of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP). The deal was signed between the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission and Russian Nuclear Fuel Supply Company TVEL in Dhaka.

• Signed by: BAEC Chairman Mahbubul Haque and the Russian firm’s commercial director and Fedor Sokolov signed the agreement in the presence of Science and Technology Minister Yeafesh Osman.

The project was approved by the Cabinet Division's Economic Affairs Committee. The agreement says that the TVEL Joint Stock Company will supply fuel for the entire lifetime of the 2,400 MW RNPP project.

About the Project:

The project duration of RNP will be  believed to 50 years. The fuel will be supplied to the country’s maiden nuclear power plant at Rooppur under Ishwardi upazila in Pabna. The first unit of the RNPP is expected to come into operation by 2022 and the second unit will be established by 2024. The cost estimated by the Bangladesh government is $12.65 billion.

Fiona Kolbinger first woman to win km cycling race

• German cancer researcher Fiona Kolbinger won the mixed annual 4,000km(2,485 miles) cycling Transcontinental Race from Burgas in Bulgaria. She becomes the first woman to win one of the world’s toughest cycling races.

• She took 10 days, 2 hours and 48 minutes to complete the challenge .It includes about 40,000 metres (131,000ft) of climbing.