1.Amazon is buying Whole Foods in a $13.7 billion deal :-
Online juggernaut Amazon is buying Whole Foods in a deal valued at about $13.7 billion, a strong move to expand its growing reach into groceries.
Amazon.com Inc. will pay $42 per share for Whole Foods Market Inc., including debt. That marks an 18% premium to Whole Foods’ closing price on Thursday.
The deal comes a month after Whole Foods announced a board shake-up and cost-cutting plan amid falling sales. The grocery store operator was also under pressure from activist investor Jana Partners
2.India-Australia naval exercise ‘AUSINDEX 17’ begins :-
Navies of India and Australia are participating in bilateral maritime exercise AUSINDEX-17 with an aim to enhancing interoperability and cooperation between the two forces.
Indian naval ships Jyoti, Shivalik and Kamorta are on a port visit to Freemantle, Australia from June 13 to 17 to join the exercise.
3.On Presidential election: CPI says it asked BJP team about Mohan Bhagwat, reply, ‘RSS doesn’t contest’ :-
As the BJP began reaching out to the Opposition ostensibly to build a consensus on the Presidential elections, at least one party Friday bluntly told the two top ministers when they came to meet them that the ruling alliance should not field a “hardcore” (read RSS) person for the office.
Bringing no names or proposals to the table, ministers Rajnath Singh and M Venkaiah Naidu met with and called a host of leaders starting from Congress president Sonia Gandhi to CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, SP’s Mulayam Singh Yadav to BSP chief Mayawati leaving all of them guessing.
4.AIIB grants $150 mn loan to India Infrastructure Fund :-
China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has approved $150 million equity investment loan to the India Infrastructure Fund, the bank’s first such loan to fund private projects.
The bank, in which India is a lead partner, has approved two loans and one equity investment totalling $324 million to support infrastructure projects in India, Georgia and Tajikistan.
The AIIB was officially established in 2016 with 57 founding members.
With authorised capital of $100 billion, China is the largest shareholder with 26.06 per cent voting shares.
India is the second largest shareholder with 7.5 per cent followed by Russia 5.93 per cent and Germany with 4.5 per cent
5.Margaret Atwood to get literary lifetime achievement award :-
Margaret Atwood is receiving a lifetime achievement award from one of the world’s oldest literary organizations.
PEN Center USA announced Wednesday that Ms. Atwood will accept the honor at the group’s annual Literary Awards Festival in October.
Ms. Atwood has written more than 40 books of fiction, poetry and essays. The television adaptation of her novel “The Handmaid’s Tale” premiered on Hulu earlier this year and has been renewed for a second season that will be released in 2018.
6.Small interaction during Modi US trip, no Madison Square-like event :-
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in a “small interaction” with Indian community leaders instead of a high-profile 2014 Madison Square Garden-like public event during his visit to the US on June 25 and 26 when he is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump.
Paucity of time for planning and lack of a “conducive atmosphere” were the key reasons for not organising a big event. The Indian embassy will organise a smaller community interaction with representatives from the Indian diaspora in the US.
7.Last month was second hottest May on record: NASA :-
Last month was the second-warmest May in 137 years of modern record-keeping of average global temperatures, according to NASA.
The two top May temperature anomalies have occurred during the past two years. 2016 was the hottest on record, at 0.93 degrees Celsius warmer than the May mean temperature.
Last month was 0.88 degrees Celsius warmer than the mean May temperature from 1951-1980.
8.Aadhaar must for bank accounts, transactions over Rs 50,000 :-
The Government has made it mandatory to provide Aadhaar numbers while opening bank accounts and carrying out financial transactions of Rs 50,000 or more, according to a notification by the revenue department.
Even existing bank account holders will have to furnish Aadhaar numbers issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) by December 31, failing which the account will cease to be operational, said the notification dated June 1.
9.Puerto Rico oversight board fears progress stalling on economic fix :-
Puerto Rico’s federal oversight board on Friday indicated it may be losing confidence in the local government’s resolve in turning the ailing island around, and intimated that employee furloughs could be in the offing.
In a letter to Governor Ricardo Rossello and leaders of Puerto Rico’s house and senate, oversight board Chairman Jose Carrion said the government’s resolve to steer the U.S. territory out of bankruptcy “may be waning,” and voiced concern that “positive collaboration between the board and the administration … may be receding.”
10.Donald Trump owes lenders at least $315 million, disclosure shows :-
rs as of mid-2017, according to a federal financial disclosure form released late on Friday by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics.
He had roughly $20 million in income from his new marquee Washington hotel, which opened just down the street from the White House last September.
Revenues also increased at Mar-a-Lago, the Florida resort known as the “Winter White House.”
11.ISRO set to launch back-up satellite :-
In an attempt to keep India’s regional navigation satellite system fully operational, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is preparing to launch a back-up for IRNSS-1A, one of the seven satellites in the constellation, that has been hobbled by the failure of the atomic clocks on board.
