Kamal Nath sworn-in as Protem Speaker of Lok Sabha

1.    Kamal Nath sworn-in as Protem Speaker of Lok Sabha

i. Senior Congress leader Kamal Nath was today sworn-in here as the Protem Speaker of the newly constituted Lok Sabha by President Pranab Mukherjee.

ii. 67-year-old Nath, a nine-term MP, was administered the oath at a simple function in the Rashtrapati Bhavan which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and Minister of State (Parliamentary Affairs) Santosh K Gangwar.

iii. The former Parliamentary Affairs Minister and Lok Sabha Member from Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara was congratulated by the President and other dignitaries after the oath-taking ceremony in the ‘Yellow Drawing Room’ of the President's House.

2.    Obama proposed 1 billion dollar US Security Plan for Eastern Europe

i. The US President Barack Obama on 3 June 2014 proposed a 1 billion US dollar (about 730 million Euros) US security plan for Eastern Europe to finance extra US troop and military deployments to new allies in Eastern Europe. 

ii. This announcement was made during Obama’s visit to Poland to attend the 25th anniversary of Poland’s first free elections. 

Reason for this security plan 
The security plan came in the backdrop of concerns and fears of West over the Ukraine crisis and the escalating pro-Russian uprising in ex-Soviet Union.

The pro-Russian insurgency in eastern region of Ukraine grew rapidly after 25 May 2014, the day on which, Poroshenko won the Ukrainian presidential election on a promise to end the fight and same the nation from economic collapse. The recent protest of the pro-Russian saw an attack on the Ukrainian border guard service camp in the Russian border region of Lugansk on 2 June 2014. 

3.    Jammu and Kashmir raised retirement age of employee to 60

i. Jammu and Kashmir government on 3 June 2014 announced the enhancement of the retirement age of government employees from 58 to 60 years. The cabinet also raised the upper age limit for youths to obtain government jobs from 37 to 40 years.

ii. It also announced several other employee-friendly measures and pledged itself to redress their grievances.

iii. Besides, it also decided to absorb all temporary casual labourers and need-based workers who have completed 7-year of service into regular government services. The decision will benefit more than 60000 employees in Jammu and Kashmir.

4.    Amla appointed as test cricket captain of South Africa

i. Hashim Amla was appointed as new test captain of South African cricket team on 3 June 2014.

ii. Amla is the successor of Graeme Smith who retired in March 2014 after serving the test side of South African cricket for more than a decade. 

iii. AB de Villers, the captain of the ODI squad and seemed to be the front runner for the job was appointed as the vice-captain of the Test squad. However, Amla will be his deputy in the ODI squad.