• National

President Ram Nath Kovind is on a three-nation visit

• President Ram Nath Kovind is on a three-nation visit to Cyprus, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic from 2-9 September.
• During his visit to Cyprus, he will address Cyprus’ House of Representatives and will deliver a lecture at the University of Cyprus.

• International

US government has cancelled $300 million in aid to Pakistan

• In a blow to US-Pakistan relations, the US government has cancelled $300 million in aid to Pakistan over Islamabad’s perceived failure to take decisive action against terrorists and militants. This is in addition to another $500 million in aid that was withdrawn earlier this year at the behest of the US Congress.
• The financial assistance of the US to Pakistan is called Coalition Support Funds (CSF).

• International

Ikee Rikako has been named as the Most Valuable Player of Asian games

• Japanese swimmer Ikee Rikako has been named as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the recently-concluded 18th edition of the Asian Games.
• The 18-year-old, who bagged six gold and two silver medals in the tournament, became the first female athlete to win the MVP title.

• Economy and Business

Mauritius remained the top source of Foreign Direct Investment

• Island nation Mauritius remained the top source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into India in 2017-18 followed by Singapore, according to RBI data.
• While FDI from Mauritius totalled $13.41 billion, inflows from Singapore rose to $9.27 billion.

• Sports

Arjun Singh Cheema won gold

• Arjun Singh Cheema won the individual junior men’s 50m pistol gold
• In the team event, Arjun with Gaurav Rana and Anmol Jain also won the gold.

• Sports

Lewis Hamilton won the Italian Grand Prix.

• The Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the Italian Grand Prix.
• Ferrari’s driver Sebastian Vettel didn’t rise to the occasion.

• Appointments

HAL appointed R Madhavan as its Chairman and Managing Director

• Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) appointed R Madhavan as its Chairman and Managing Director for five years.
• Madhavan was heading the Accessories Division of HAL at Lucknow as an Executive Director.

• Important Days

Smriti Irani inaugurated a ‘digital village‘ in Amethi

• Union textiles minister Smriti Irani on September 1, 2018 inaugurated a ‘digital village‘ in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh.
• Under the digital village project, there would be 206 programmes available for the people.

• Defence

Bi-annual talks between India and Bangladesh border forces

• The bi-annual talks between Indian and Bangladeshi border forces have begun in New Delhi.
• Director General of Border Security Force (BSF) KK Sharma represented the Indian side while Director General of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) Major General Md Shafeenul Islam led the Bangladeshi side in the talks.

• States

Yogi Adityanath inaugurated first hi-tech cruise ‘Alaknanda’

• Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated first hi-tech cruise ‘Alaknanda’ on the banks of river Ganga in Varanasi.
• This double-decker cruise with around 2,000 square feet area can accommodate 60 passengers

• Miscellaneous

The Union Health Ministry has released the draft rules

• The Union Health Ministry has released the draft rules on sale of drugs by e-pharmacies with an aim to regulate online sale of medicines across the country.
• It aims at providing patients access to genuine drugs from authentic online portals.

• Agreements

India and Singapore launched the next round of review for their existing FTA

• India and Singapore launched the next round of review for their existing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with a view to further boost bilateral trade and investments between the countries.
• The FTA is officially known as the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement.