The Weekly Update consisting of Important News, Events, Facts and Achievements. Browse Regularly for Strengthening your General Knowledge, and staying abreast with what is happening around you.
National Political News:
1. Airlifting of Indians from battle/strife torn Yemen has nearly been completed. Indian team lead by minister of state for External affairs General V.K. Singh (Retd.) is camping in Djibouti – Somalia to co-ordinate the operations. Indian Air force giant planes C-17, Air India Boeings and Indian Naval ships INS Mumbai and INS Tarkash have successfully evacuated the stranded 4000 Indians and people of other nationalities also in a humanitarian gesture. ¬
2. Police in various states are trying to check voyeurism in garment stores after the complaint by HRD minister Smriti Irani against Fab India fashion retail outlet in Candolim, Goa.
3. 20 Timber smugglers of red sanders wood (red sandalwood) have been shot dead by Andhra Police in Seshachalam forest, Chitoor dist., Andhra Pradesh, adjoining Tamil Nadu. Red Sanders wood is used in cosmetics, furniture, musical instruments and ayurvedic medicines. It has a high demand in China, Japan and East Asian countries. Its price in India is about Rs.20 lakh per ton whereas internationally it is valued at Rs.50-80 lakhs per ton.
4. Heavy rains are lashing North India with J&K being the worst affected. 17 people have been killed in Jammu region because of land slide’s and house collapses. Srinagar again runs the risk of floods as in September last year. River Chenab is in spate and Dal Lake is full to the brim and nearing danger mark. Wide spread destruction of wheat crop in unseasonal rains has resulted in about 30 farmers dying of trauma/suicide in the past 4 days in UP, Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
5. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to France has brought a closure to the Rafale fighter aircraft deal with French Aerospace Company Dassault. The deal for 63 fighter aircrafts on an outright govt. to govt. purchase basis without middlemen is valued at $7.5 billion. $2.3 billion shall be pumped in by France aerospace companies for the Make in India program of the Govt.
International Political News:
1. Pope Francis, Papal head of the Christians has decried the killing of 142 Kenyan Christian students at Garissa University College at Garissa, Kenya by Islamists fundamentalists group Al-Shabaab owing allegiance to ISIS /Al Qaida. The dastardly killings of singled out Christian students have evoked worldwide condemnation. Kenya has reprised by bombing Al-Shabaab camps in Somalia.
2. A rail tunnel under Mt. Everest (Qomolangma in Chinese) to be built by China to connect Lhasa, capital of Tibet with Kathmandu, capital of Nepal. The 540 km long Rail line shall be an extension of the 1956 km long Qinhai – Tibet line. The railway line and the tunnel is being designed for a train speed of 120 km/h.
3. Pakistan High Court in Lahore orders release of 26/11 Mumbai attacks terror master mind Rehman Lakhvi. It has ruled against detention orders issued under the Maintenance of Public Order Act (MPO) passed by the Pakistan Panjab Govt.
Business News:
1. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has defended tax notices sent by the Income Tax Authorities to FII’s on the imposition of 20% Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) on capital gains made by them in India for the previous assessment years. The finance minister remarked at a symposium on the issue that that, ‘India is not a tax haven’.
2. Govts. disinvestment plans for FY-10 received a electrifying start with state run REC shares, quantity 5% of govt. holding on offer for sale (OFS) at a price of Rs.315 a piece oversubscribed by 5.11 times. Govt. will raised Rs.1550 crores from this 5% stake sale of REC.
3. In the Satyam Computer Services scam case, Rama Lingam Raju founder of Satyam convicted and fined Rs.5 crores besides being jailed for 7 years by a special CBI court for fudging of books and diversion of funds. Others convicted in the case are executives of auditing firm Price Water House who have been fined Rs.25 lakhs along with a jail term of 7 years.
4. Index of Industrial Production (IIP) numbers are at a 3 month high of 5% indicating revival of green shoots in Indian economy.
5. Mercedes Benz car with 3566 units sold compared with Audi’s 3181 units, BMW’s nearly 1500 units has become the leader in the Indian luxury car segment for the January to March 2015/16 period.
Science and Technology:
Scientists have made a breakthrough in producing clean hydrogen fuel from plant waste, that is corn hobs, stalks and husks left over in harvested maize fields. The process has been perfected mixing biomass with watery solution containing a cocktail of 10 enzymes that turn plant sugar xylose and glucose into hydrogen and Carbon dioxide. Road side bio reactors are envisaged to use this fuel for running automobiles.
Miscellaneous:
A Hisar village, Rakhigarhi in Haryana as per latest excavations carried out archaeologically, the biggest and most advanced cosmopolitan city of the Harappan era has been excavated. Traces of all three periods of harappan civilization have been found. Spread over 300 hectares it is much bigger than Mohenjo-Daro at 200 hectares. Harappan era civilization existed in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan 5000 years ago.
Sports:
1. Indian Tennis star Sania Mirza has captured her 25th WTA doubles titles in partnership with Martina Hingis in Miami USA. The team has become the world’s top ranked ladies double players.
2. In the Malaysian Super Series Badminton Tournament in Kaula Lumpur China’s Chen Long and Spain’s Carolina Marin clinched the men’s and women’s singles titles respectively.
Chen Long is the reigning world champion and he beat 5 times world champion Lin Dan 20-22, 21-13, 21-11. Marin defeated Olympic champion China’s Li Xuerui 19-21, 21-19, 21-17. Xuerui had defeated India’s Saina Nehwal in the semifinal.
3. The 24th Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament has commenced in Ipoh Malaysia. In the various league matches India dew 2-2 with South Korea, Australia beat Canada 7-0, New Zealand beat Malaysia 4-2, India lose to New Zealand 1-2 and 2-3 to Malaysia, Australia beat Korea 5-2, New Zealand beat Canada 5-0, India beat Canada 5-3, Australia beat New Zealand 3-1, Korea beat Malaysia 3-2, India beat Australia 4-2, South Korea draw with New Zealand 3-3 and Malaysia beat Canada 4-1.
4. Indian Premier League 2015 (IPL 8) has begun with much fanfare in Kolkata. In the opening match Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) beat Mumbai Indians (MI) in the first T-20 match of the season.
5. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) score 209 for 4 wickets in 20 overs beating Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) who made164for 6 wickets in 20 overs in a match played at Chennai.
6. Again in Kolkata, Kolkata Knight Riders scored 177for 6 wickets in 20 overs and lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) who scored 179 for7 wickets in 19 overs.
7. In Bangalore, Royal Challengers Bangalore were166 all out in 19.5 overs and lost to Sun Risers Hyderabad who scored 172for 2 wickets in 19.2 overs. Warner 56 and Shikhar Dhawan 50 not out shone in the match for SRH.
8. In Bangalore, Mumbai Indians were 164for 5 wickets in 20 overs went down to Rajasthan Royals (RR) 165 for 3 wickets in 19.1 overs Smith scores 79 not out for RR.
9. At Pune, Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) scored 165 for 7 wickets in 20 overs. Delhi Daredevils (DD) won the match with a score of 169 for 5 wickets in 19.5 overs. For DD Yuvraj scored 65 and M. Aggarwal 68.
10. At Vishakhapatnam, Rajasthan Royals with 131runs for 4 wickets in 20 overs beat Sun Risers Hyderabad who made 127 for 5 wickets in 20 overs.
11. At Pune, Kings XI Panjab (KXIP) made 155for 9 wickets in 20 overs and lost to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) who scored 159for 6 wickets in 17.5 overs.
12. At Vishakhapatnam, Delhi Dare Devils (DD) scored 167for 4 wickets in 20 overs and beat Sun Risers Hyderabad (SRH) who had managed 163runs for 8 wickets in 20 overs. The match went to the last ball on which DD had scored the winning run. Captain Duminy scored 54 and Shreyas Iyer 60 in the match for DD.
