*CURRENT AFFAIRS (01:08:2014)

1. Iconic South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis hangs his boots on
all forms of international cricket.
- He is the sole cricketer in the history to score over 11,000 runs
and take 250 wickets in both one-day and Test match cricket.
- 13,289 runs in 166 test matches with 292 wickets.
- 11,574 runs in ODIs with 273 scalps.
2. Libya going Iraq way (?): Islamic extremist group Ansar al-Sharia
captures the nation's second largest city Benghazi; the city declared
an 'Islamic emirate'
- The country, highly fragmented since the fall of Muammar Qaddafi in
2011, has still been struggling to find the elusive political
stability.
- This is the repercussions of failure to control and disarm rebel
militias which threaten the unity of the country.
3. Avinash Chander, the brain behind the long-range ballistic missiles
programme, is honoured with the prestigious Lokmanya Tilak award for
2014.
- The prize, in its 32nd edition, carries a gold medal, memento,
citation and cash reward of Rs 1 lakh.
4. There is 1869 billion cubic meters water available for each Indian per year.
- Though the amount of average utilizable water comes down to 1123 BCM
(690 BCM surface water and 433 BCM of replenishable ground water)
owing to topographic, hydrological and other constraints.
5. Turkey is going for Presidential election as Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan hopes to become the nation's first directly-elected
president.
- His party's rulebook prohibits him from getting a fourth term as
prime minister.
6. Railways to add Wi-Fi facility at 'A1' & 'A' category stations and
in 50 rakes of important trains in Rajdhani/Shatabdi/Duranto category.
- This is in addition to Wi-Fi facility provided in 3 rakes of
Howrah-New Delhi-Howrah Rajdhani Express as a pilot project.
- The public carrier will also add another 5000 Automatic Ticket
Vending Machines across all zonal railways - 2000 coin operated and
3000 smart card operated.
7. New Delhi is going to host the 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit
(IAFS-III) in December 2014.
- The inaugural Summit was held in New Delhi in April 2008 while the
subsequent one took place in Addis Ababa in 2011.
8. Government, in order to encourage the solar power generation in the
country, has set in motion a "Grid Connected Rooftop and Small Solar
Power Plants Program".
- The scheme promotes solar rooftop systems in the residential,
commercial, industrial and institutional establishments.