1. PM Modi’s visit to Belgium, US and Saudi Arabia concludes
a. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded his three-nation visit to Belgium, Unites States and Saudi Arabia on April 4, 2016.
b. During this visit, he signed some important bilateral agreements and participated in the 13th India-EU Summit in Brussels.
c. With his Belgian counterpart Charles Michel he activated Asia’s largest general purpose optical telescope in Devasthal, Uttarakhand through Remote Technical Activation. Both the nations also released a comprehensive plan called ‘Action 2020’ for EU-India cooperation.
d. He visited the US to participate in the 4th Nuclear Security Summit and announced a contribution of $1 million to the Nuclear Security Fund of the International Atomic Energy Agency. India & US also signed an MoU to set up a Laser Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory (LIGO) in India.
e. His visit to Saudi Arabia resulted in the two nations signing five major agreements in the fields of labour cooperation, handicrafts, intelligence, quality standards and investment promotion.
2. Nico Rosberg wins 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix
a. Veteran German F1 driver Nico Rosberg emerged victorious in the 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix which was held at the Bahrain International Circuit in the capital city of Manama.
b. This is Rosberg’s fifth successive win as won the final four races in 2015 and the Australian Grand Prix in 2016. On the whole, this is his 16th career win.
c. Finland’s Kimi Raikkonen bagged the second position, while Britain’s Lewis Hamilton stood third in the race. Hamilton was the winner of 2015 Bahrain Grand Prix.
3. Tran Dai Quang elected as Vietnam’s new president
a.Former Police Chief of Vietnam Tran Dai Quang has sworn in as the country’s ninth president replacing Truong Tan Sang.
b. Dai Quang served as the Minister of Public Security from 2011 to 2016.
c. He ranked second in his 12th Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
4. Flipkart acquires payments start-up PhonePe
a. E-commerce company Flipkart has acquired payments start-up PhonePe Internet Pvt. Ltd.
b. The start-up was launched in December 2015 by former Flipkart executives Sameer Nigam, Rahul Chari and Burzin Engineer. It aims to build a product which will allow customers to pay using just their mobile number.
c. PhonePe is Flipkart’s third major start-up acquisition after NGPay in 2014 and FX Mart Pvt. Ltd
5. Shiva Thapa bags silver in Asian/Oceania qualifying event
a. Indian Boxer Shiva Thapa from Assam bagged the silver medal in the 56 kilogram category in the Asian/Oceania qualifying tournament in China defeating Kazakhstan’s Kairat Yeraliyev.
b. Till date, he is the first Indian boxer to qualify for the Rio Olympics. Previously, he had participated in the 2012 London Olympics to and became the youngest Indian boxer to qualify for the Olympics.
c. Shiva Thapa ranks third in the bantamweight category in the AIBA men’s ranking. Previously, he had won a gold medal at the Asian Games.
6. Saudi confers highest civilian honour on PM Modi
a. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been conferred with the King Abdulaziz Sash – Saudi Arabia highest civilian honour.
b. King Salman Abdulaziz presented the award to PM Modi at the Royal court of Riyadh.
c. The award is named after the former Saudi King and the founder of modern Saudi Arabia – Abdulaziz al Saud. It is conferred on Saudi nationals and foreigners for meritorious service to the Islamic country.
d. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, British Prime Minister David Cameron, US President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi were previously are some of the recipients of this honour.
7. Kallol Roy appointed as new CMD of Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam
a. Kallol Roy was appointed as Chairman and Managing Director of Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Ltd. (BHAVINI) after the superannuation of Perumal Chellapandi.
b. Previously, Roy was the head of the Research Reactor Maintenance Division, Reactor Group, BARC.
c. BHAVINI is a government-owned corporation established in 2004 in Chennai. It is responsible for the construction, commissioning and operation of all Stage-II fast breeder reactors envisaged as part of India’s three-stage nuclear power programme.
8. West Indies become world T20 2016 champions
a. West Indies men’s team defeated England in the finals of the men’s T20 World Cup to become 2016 champions. The final match was held at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
b. This is the second T20 World Cup win for West Indies after they lifted the cup in 2012.
c. Marlon Samuels was named Player of the Match with his unbeaten 85 runs. Indian batsman Virat Kohli was conferred with the Player of the Series title.
d. A few hours before the men’s team lifted the trophy, the West Indies women’s team bagged the Women’s World T20 by defeating Australia at Eden Gardens.
9. Djokovic, Azarenka win Miami Open 2016 titles
a. Serbian tennis ace Novak Djokovic and Belarusian player Victoria Azarenka bagged the men’s and women’s titles respectively in the finals of the 2016 Miami Open.
b. Djokovic won his sixth title in Miami by defeating Japan’s Kei Nishikori. He has become the first player to win three straight Miami titles since Agassi from 2001-2003.
c. He also becomes the first man to win the Indian Wells-Miami double three years in a row.
d. Victoria Azarenka defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia to achieve the rare feat of winning both the Indian Wells and the Miami Open. She has become the third woman in the WTA’s history to win both tournaments in the same year after Kim Clijsters in 2005 and Steffi Graf in 1994 and 1996.
e. Also, American player Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Czech Lucie Safarova won the women’s doubles title against Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova. French duo Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut bagged the men’s doubles title.
10. Centre inaugurates world’s first white tiger safari
a. Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar inaugurated the world’s first white tiger safari at Mukundpur in Madhya Pradesh.
b. White tigers are reported to be found in Assam, Bengal, Bihar, Sunderbans and especially in the former State of Rewa.
c. The first white tiger was spotted in Madhya Pradesh’s Vindhya region in 1915.
d. The colour of the white tiger is due to pigmentation and it is basically a variant of the Bengal tiger.
11.International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action observed
a. The International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action is annually observed on April 4.
b. This year’s theme is ‘Mine Action is Humanitarian Action’.
c. The primary goal this year is to find and destroy landmines and explosive hazards in war-torn areas to make the humanitarian aid accessible to the needy.
d. The United Nations Mine Action Strategy (UNMAS) 2006-2010 aims to clear roads and runways of explosives, block off weapon contaminated areas, and train local people to dispose off explosives.
12. Mehbooba Mufti sworn in as first woman CM of Jammu & Kashmir
a. On April 4, the president of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Mehbooba Mufti was sworn in as first-ever woman Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir.
b. She is the daughter of late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed who passed away recently. Since then, the office of the CM has been vacant and the state was under president’s rule.
c. Mehbooba Mufti formed a new government in J&K in coalition with BJP.
13.Former AC Milan player Cesare Maldini passes away
a. Former AC Milan player Cesare Maldini has passed away. The veteran player used to be the defender in the team and later became the club manager.
b. While playing for the club, he won 4 Serie A league titles and 1 European Cup. For the Italian national team, he earned 14 caps in total and participated in the 1962 World Cup.
c. He also had a successful career as a coach for the under-21 Italian team which won the European Under-21 Championship with a record breaking three consecutive wins.
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