*CURRENT AFFAIRS (02:04:2014)

1. Manuel Valls replaces Jean-Marc Ayrault as the new Prime Minister of France.
- The rejig by the President Francois Hollande has come in the wake of
recent debacle of the ruling party in municipal elections held in
March.
- He, interior minister in the regime, is presently seen as the most
popular Socialist leader with a wide acceptability base.
2. Indian-Americancardiologist Dr Sumeet Chugh has been honoured with
the coveted Simon Dack Award by the American College of Cardiology.
- He receives the award for outstanding scholarship in recognition of
his contributions to the organisation's peer-reviewed medical
journals.
- He is an expert in heart rhythm disorders such as sudden cardiac
arrest and atrial fibrillation.
- Another award given by the organization namely 'Distinguished
Scientist Award' (Basic Domain) for 2014 has gone to Eduardo Marban.
3. Noel Naval Tata assumes charge as chairman of Trent - the retail
arm of the Tata group
- He, brother-in-law of Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry, succeeds now
retired 'FK Kavarana'.
4. Anil Agarwal assumes charge as new chairman emeritus of Sesa
Sterlite - a firm of mining giant Vedanta Resources group.
- He was earlier the non-executive chairman in the company.
- His brother Navin Agarwal also joins as the new chairman of the board.
5. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) release its
report titled "Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and
Vulnerability"
- It holds the Global Warming responsible for unseasonal rains in
India that may have adverse impact on food production in the country.
- It also forecasts contamination of fresh water resources.
6. The world observes the 7th annual World Autism Awareness Day on April 2.
7. Nancy Powell, US ambassador to India, quits.
- The move is seen as a reflection on her unimpressive stint that saw
the diplomatic relations between the two nations plummets.