1. Forbes releases World’s 100 Most Powerful Women 2016 list
a) German Chancellor Angela Merkel has topped the Forbes ‘100 Most Powerful Women’ list. This list includes the world’s smartest and toughest female personalities from business women & entrepreneurs to scientists and politicians.
b) This list also includes four Indian women, namely SBI Managing Director Arundhati Bhattacharya, Biocon Founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, ICICI Bank MD Chanda Kochhar & HT Media head Shobhana Bhartia. Arundhati Bhattacharya is at the top among Indian women at 25th spot.
c) German Chancellor Angela Merkel has secured the first place for the sixth consecutive year. US Democratic Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton bagged the 2nd rank.
2. Mirza Imtiyaz Judicial Commission constituted to probe Mathura violence
a) A judicial probe was recently ordered by UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav to look into the recent Mathura violence. Retired Allahabad High Court judge, Justice Mirza Imtiyaz Murtaza will head this judicial commission and submit report in two months.
b) The recent armed conflict between state police and followers of ‘Swadhin Bharat’ in the Jawahar Bagh Public Park in Mathura claimed 24 lives including two police officials.
c) The commission will inquire into the reasons of origin of such violent incident and lapses on the part of police and intelligence bodies. It will review planning and readiness of the state and district administrative machinery for future.
3. India signs MoU with US to facilitate hassle-free entry of Indians to US
a) India & US has recently signed a memorandum of understanding to provide expedited security clearance which will ease the immigration process for Indian entering into US.
b) This MoU will further support to grow the people to people ties in both the countries which will further strengthen the bilateral relationship between India & US.
c) Currently, the Global Entry Programme is available at 12 pre-clearance locations in the US and more than 40 US airports. By this date, more than 1.8 million people have already enrolled for this programme.
4. AYUSH minister inaugurates National Health Editors’ meet on Yoga
a) Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Naik has inaugurated the National Health Editors’ meet on Yoga. The theme of this conference was ‘Yoga for Holistic Health – Recent Researches’.
b) The objective of this conference was to propagate benefits of Yoga. The Minister has also announced the introduction of a new International Yoga Award Scheme.
c) This meet was organised by Ministry of AYUSH in association with Press Information Bureau. It is part of a planned series of events before the upcoming International Yoga Day on 21st June, 2016.
5. Centre to form new reserve battalion named after Maharana Pratap
a) A new reserve battalion in Rajasthan is set to be named as Maharana Pratap Battalion.
b) Maharana pratap was the ruler of Mewar, He was a fearless warrior and great military strategist who fought against till his death during the efforts of saving his people.
6. US returns 200 artifacts worth $100 mn to India
a) The US has recently returned around 200 cultural artifacts worth Rs. 100 million to India.
b) These artifacts include religious statues, bronzes and terra cotta pieces, some dating back 2,000 years, looted from some of India’s most treasured religious sites. It also contains, a valuable statue of a Hindu Mystic and poet Saint Manikkavachakar. This statue is worth 1.5 million.
c) This statues were seized by US Homeland Security Investigation called Operation Hidden Idol. Subhash Kapoor, Owner of Art of the Past Gallery, had imported this shipment. He is currently under Indian custody and awaiting trial.
7. NPCI and Westinghouse agree to begin engineering work on 6 N-reactors
a) Nuclear Power Corporation of India & US firm Westinghouse recently signed agreement to start engineering and site design work for six AP1000 nuclear power reactors in India.
b) The project will further strengthen India-US civil nuclear agreement and provide assistance to India to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels.
c) The two organisations will finalise agreement by June, 2017.
8. India, US set up 2 clean energy financial support programmes for $60 mn
a) Inda along with US has announced establishment of two new financial assistance programmes worth $60 million in order to provide necessary financial assistance to India’s clean energy initiatives, including the solar power and other initiatives.
b) US & India will also prove their equal support to creation and maintenance of the US-India Clean Energy Finance (USICEF) initiative worth $20 million & US-India Catalytic Solar Finance Programme worth $40 million.
c) Both the countries are committed to establish a US-India Clean Energy Hub as a coordinating mechanism to increase renewable energy investments in India.
9. Queen Elizabeth to honour Indian-origin professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharya
a) Indian-origin Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya will receive the prestigious Regius Professorship in Manufacturing by Queen Elizabeth II.
b) Lord Bhattacharyya is currently the chairman and founder of Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG). He founded WMG in 1980 with an aim to energise UK’s manufacturing sector with modern ideas. He has advised the UK government on manufacturing innovation, and technology, including former Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair.
c) The Regius Professorship is approved by the Queen herself after ministerial advice.
10. American mixed martial arts fighter Kimbo Slice passes away
a) Renowned mixed martial art fighter Kimbo Slice recently passed away at the age of 42.
b) He began his journey as a football player and strip club bouncer. Later, he became an online sensation while competing in unsanctioned street fights during the early 2000s.
c) He started his career in mixed martial arts in 2005 and rose to fame.
11. Eden Gardens to host India’s first pink ball match
a) Eden Gardens ground in Kolkata is set to host India’s first pink ball match in June 2016.
b) A pink Kookaburra ball will be used in the finals of the local super league. This super league is held to select the players for the Bengal state’s Ranji Trophy team.
c) Pink balls were developed in the 2000s to enable Tests and first-class matches played at night. The red ball is unsuited to night tests due to poor visibility, and the white ball is unsuited to first-class cricket because its rapid deterioration.
12. India to host Junior Men’s Hockey World Cup in December
a) Lucknow will be hosting the Junior Men’s Hockey Cup this year in December.
b) The event will feature 16 teams – defending champions Germany, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Egypt, England, Germany, India, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan and Spain.
c) Before this tournament, the women’s Hockey Junior World Cup will take place in Santiago, Chile, from 24th November to 4th December.
13. LISA Pathfinder mission demonstrates ways to detect gravitational waves
a) LISA Pathfinder, a mission led by the European Space Agency (ESA) with contributions from NASA, has successfully tested a key technology needed to build a space-based observatory for detecting gravitational waves.
b) These tiny ripples in the fabric of space which were predicted by Albert Einstein a century ago, were seen last year for the first time by the ground-based Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO).
c) The primary goal of ESA’s LISA Pathfinder mission is to test current technology by flying around an identical pair of 1.8-inch (46 millimeter) cubes made of a gold-platinum alloy, a material chosen for its high density and insensitivity to magnetic fields.
14. Veteran Journalist KK Katyal passes away
a) Veteran journalist K K Katyal has passed away at the age of 88.
b) He served The Hindu for 28 years and took care of the paper’s political and diplomatic reporting.
c) He previously worked for News Chronicle, The Statesman & Hindustan Times.
15. Maria Sharapova receives two-year suspension for failing drug test
a) International Tennis Federation has suspended veteran Tennis player Maria Sharapova for 2 years for using a prohibited drug.
b) She was found guilty for violating the Article 8.1 of the 2016 Tennis Anti-Doping Programme.
c) Due to her prompt admission of her violation, that period of ineligibility might be back-dated and end on 25 January 2018.
16. WHO validates elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis in four countries including Thailand
a) World Health Organization (WHO) on 8 June 2016 recognised Thailand, Armenia, Belarus and Moldova for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV and Syphilis.
b) The achievement is a step forward in Thailand’s aggressive campaign to reduce new cases of the Aids virus, but experts warn many other problems still exist – including a rising rate of new HIV infections among gay men and transgender people.
c) WHO and partners in 2014 developed a global criteria to validate the elimination of transmission of both infections through a rigorous review of country progress. Last year, Cuba was the first country to have successfully eliminated mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis.
d) Eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis is key to the global effort to combat sexually transmitted infections and to end AIDS by the year 2030.
17. Internet Saathi launched in West Bengal
a) A joint initiative of Google and Tata Trust called Internet Sathi was recently launched in Kolkata, West Bengal.
b) This initiative aims to empower women from the rural India by providing basic training for internet usage. It will help in reducing the digital gender gap in rural areas of India such as Purulia.
c) The programme was launched in five different Indian states from July 2015. Google helps in training the Saathi’s and provides data-enabled devices along with the training material. Tata trust supports the local NGOs to conduct training classes for these women.
18. NATO launches biggest ever Joint Military Exercise Anaconda-16 in Poland
a) The biggest-ever joint military exercise called Anaconda-16 was recently launched by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in Poland.
b) The exercise has been launched at the crucial time when Eastern and Central European countries are concerned over the Russian progressions in the region.
c) This exercise was organised and coordinated by Polish military’s operational command. It will involve some 31000 troops from Poland, the US and 17 other NATO member nations and from five partner nations out of which 12000 of the troops are from Poland, almost 14000 from the US and some 1000 from Britain.