National Political
1. India and Iran sign a bilateral pact in Tehran during PM Modi’s visit, for development of Chabahar port and another related deal with Afghanistan for trade and transit corridor. India will, thus, gain access to energy-rich Central Asian republics and Afghanistan by bypassing the land route thru Pakistan.
2. CPM leader Pinarayi Vijayan has been sworn in as CM of Kerala, heading a 19 member government of Left Democratic Front (LDF). Congress lead UDF has been routed in the Kerala assembly elections.
SarbanadaSonowal heads the BJP lead government in Assam. He was Union Minister of Sports at the Centre. TarunGogoileadCongress lost Assam after ruling it for 15 years for failure to check corruption and migration from Bangladesh.
3. Militants infiltration in Kashmir near LOC foiled by the Army in Nowgam and Tangmarg sectors in which 16 ultras killed. An Army Havildar from Arunachal Pradesh lost his life while leading his men bravely in action.
International News
1. ISIS strikes at Syrian Mediterranean Coastal town of Jableh and Tartous which house Russian military bases in Syria. Over 140 killed in the attack. These towns are Syrian President Assad’s Alawite community dominated, otherwise a minority in Syria.
2. President Pranab Mukherjee is in China on an official visit in which he is likely to take up India’s membership of Nuclearsuppliers group, which China had been consistently opposing on ground of India having not signed the NPT.
3. Iraqi forces close in on their town Fallujah which is currently ISIS controlled from 3 sides with the help of Iranian Shia fighters and American Air Force. Iraqi forces push into an area near Baghdad to take it back from ISIS control.
4. Donald Trump wins the Washington primary and is on the cusp of crossing the delegate threshold of Republican party nomination.
5. In the past 3 days, 700 or more migrants trying to flee on boats to Libya for Sicily and Italy have lost their lives in the Mediterranean Sea in shipwrecks. Organised smugglers are at the back of these illegal crossings and are trading in human misery.
Business News
1. The ‘Make in India’ program received yet another fillip from the Government in the shape of new capital goods policy which envisages building India into a world-class hub of capital goods.
2. SBI and other Public Sector Banks quarterly and yearly results show a huge surge in sticky loans as gross NPA’s rise alarmingly on the back of AQR directive for cleanup of the books by the RBI.
Science and Technology
1. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has claimed that 84% of the 38 popular brands of Breads, Vada Pav, etc contain Potassium bromate a carcinogen which is used as a preservative. Food Safety and Standards Association of India (FSSAI) allows the use of additives in measured quantities as preservatives and taste makers.
2. Researchers at Trinity College, Dublin school of Physics and Crann Institute have figured out a new form of light with theangular momentum of each photon (A particle of visible light) only half of the value as compared to the full value as per discoveries already made.
Until now, the angular momentum was a multiple of Planck’s Constant – the physical constant that sets the scale of quantum effect.
Sports
1. Tennis
The French Open Tournament gets underway in Paris on Roland Garros clay courts. The first major disappointment of the tournament, 14 times grand slam champion Rafael Nadal bows out because of wrist injury in a match. On the women’s side, 10th seed Kvitova also knocked out.
2. Athletics
Seema Punia of Haryana with a throw of 62.62 meters against Olympic qualifying standard of 60 meters at the Pat Youngs Throwers Classic in California has qualified for the Rio Olympics. World record for this event is a throw of 70.88 meters.
3. Soccer
Real Madrid beat Athletico Madrid in Milan to lift the Champions Trophy on penalties after it was 1-1 on regulation time. Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winning penalty shot.
4. Cricket
England are 2-0 ahead in the 3 match series with Sri Lanka. Alastair Cook becomes the first English batsman to score 10,000 test runs and is the youngest player to do so(beating the record set by Sachin Tendulkar).
Indian Premier League
In the first qualifier of IPL played at Bangalore Royale Challengers Bangalore scored 159 run for 6 wickets in 18.2 overs to defeat Gujarat Lions. AB de Villiers scored unbeaten 79 runs for Royale Challengers Bangalore in the match.
In the second qualifier played at NewDelhi,Sun Risers Hyderabad scored 163 runs for 6 wickets in 19.2 overs to beat Gujarat Lions 162runs for 7 wickets in 20 overs. David Warner 93 runs not out carried the day for Sunrisers Hyderabad.
IPL Champion Trophy finals was won by Sunrisers Hyderabad defeating Royale Challengers Bangalore by 8 runs in a thrilling finish. Sunrisers Hyderabad scored 208 runs for 7 wickets in 20 overs with Warner scoring 69. Royale Challengers Bangalore replied with 200 for 7 wickets in 20 overs. Chris Gayle scored 76 runs and Virat Kohli 54 in the Royale Challengers Bangalore innings.
