Daily Current Affairs Updates: 22 June 2014

1) Nico Rosberg beats Lewis Hamilton to win Austrian Grand Prix: Nico Rosberg held off a challenge from teammate Lewis Hamilton to win the Austrian GP on Sunday for the sixth 1-2 finish by Mercedes this season. It was Rosberg's third win of the year and sixth overall as he extended his lead in the drivers' championship over Hamilton. Valtteri Bottas came third for his first career Formula One podium while Williams teammate Felipe Massa, who started from pole Position, took fourth.

2) Srinivasan set to take over as ICC chairman: BCCI’s president-in-exile N. Srinivasan is set to take over as the chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) at this week’s annual conference in Melbourne. BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel confirmed that Srinivasan was going to Melbourne. “There is no Supreme Court bar on him. Both of us are going to Melbourne. In the last four months, we have settled (the issue) with all the full members of the ICC and convinced them about the new structure and financial model which would be followed in the coming years,” he added.

3) Gujarat's stepwell 'Rani-Ki-Vav' gets UNESCO World Heritage tag: The Rani-ki-Vav (the Queen’s Stepwell) located in North Gujarat district of Patan has been inscribed in the UNESCO’s World Heritage List on Sunday. Three other cultural site Namhansanseong  (Republic of Korea), The Grand Canal (China), Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang’an-Tianshan Corridor (China, Kazakhstan,  Kyrgyzstan) have also been included in the list of World Heritage sites.  With today’s inscriptions, the total number of sites on the World Heritage List has climbed to 992.

Know Rani-ki-Vav?

The Rani-ki-Vav  (the Queen’s Stepwell) is located on the banks of the Saraswati river and was  initially built as a memorial to a king in the 11th century AD. Queen Udayamati commissioned this stepwell, in 1063 A D in the memory of her husband King Bhimdev I of the Solanki dynasty. The vav was excavated in late 1980s by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI), with the carvings found in pristine condition. Rani Ki Vav is amongst the finest stepwells in India, and one of the most famous legacies of the ancient capital city.

4) India ratified IAEA Additional Protocol: India ratifies IAEA Additional Protocol to clear way for nuclear imports to boost power generation in the country.  The ratification will also improve global confidence about India's civil nuclear programme. It will only cover 20 Nuclear facilities in the country which are subject to IAEA inspection under safeguards agreement. The rest, non-safeguarded facilities used for building weapons, will remain immune to international surveillance.