1.Trump interviews four potential candidates to lead FBI :-
President Donald Trump on Wednesday interviewed four potential candidates to lead the FBI, including former Connecticut Sen.
Joe Lieberman, former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating and Andrew McCabe, currently the bureau’s acting director.
Mr. Trump also met with Richard McFeely, a former top FBI official. Attorney General Jeff Sessions participated in the interviews.
The meetings came more than a week after Trump fired James Comey from his post as FBI director.
2.Lehmann plays down Ashes strike threat :-
National coach Darren Lehmann admitted Thursday a bitter pay dispute will be a distraction for Australia at next month’s ICC Champions Trophy, but played down a boycott of this year’s Ashes series.
Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association are locked in a tense stand-off over the long-running talks, with vice-captain David Warner warning of a strike during the showpiece series against England, starting in November.
3.GST Council meeting in Srinagar today to fix rates on goods, services :-
In what could be the last meeting before the rollout of the indirect tax regime, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council will meet for the fourteenth time on Thursday and Friday in Srinagar to decide fitment of various goods and services in the multi-tier tax structure of 5, 12, 18, 28 per cent, with additional cess over and above 28 per cent for demerit and luxury goods.
4.Actor Reema Lagoo passes away :-
Veteran actor Reema Lagoo, known for her performance in movies like Hum Aapke Hain Koun and Kal Ho Na Ho, died due to a cardiac arrest in the wee hours on Thursday at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital here.She was 59.
Lagoo was admitted to the hospital late last night after she complained of chest pain, the hospital’s Executive Director Ram Naraian said.
“We will issue a health report later in the day, after consulting with her family,” he said.
5.Kulbhushan Jadhav death sentence: ICJ to pronounce verdict today at 3.30 pm :-
According to the ICJ, its verdict will be given around 3.30 pm (IST) Thursday. India has sought “annulment” of the death sentence awarded to Jadhav by a military court in Pakistan. Islamabad has said the clemency process of 150 days should be exercised first and the plea citing urgency should be “dismissed”.
Pakistan, which wanted to screen a video of Jadhav’s confession at the ICJ, was denied permission. However, its representative displayed a purported copy of Jadhav’s Indian passport, issued in the name of Hussein Mubarak Patel, on a screen inside the courtroom.
6.Belt and Road Forum triggers China-Japan thaw :-
The recently concluded Belt and Road Forum (BRF) in Beijing has triggered a cycle of diplomacy between China and Japan, which could yield a summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as well as Tokyo’s participation in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
Japan’s Kyodo news agency is reporting that China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi is heading for Japan next month to lay the groundwork for a possible summit between the two leaders.
7.To boost Internet speed, ISRO to launch 3 GSATs in next 18 months :-
ISRO will usher in an age of high-speed Internet in India by launching three communication satellites — GSAT-19, GSAT-11 and GSAT-20 — in the next 18 months. These launches will not only revolutionise the way we use television and smartphones, but also drive the future communication needs of smart cities.
“The next big launch will be GSAT-19 in June With this launch, we will begin a new age of communication satellites. It is also the beginning of high-throughput satellites (in India),” said Tapan Misra, director of Ahmedabad-based Space Applications Centre (SAC), an arm of ISRO that develops satellite payloads.
8.Macron Cabinet reflects left, right and centre :-
French President Emmanuel Macron has unveiled his 22-member Cabinet with ministers from the political left, right and centre.
Second in command after the centre-right Prime Minister, Edouard Philippe, is long-time Partie Socialist member and Lyon mayor Gerard Collomb, who supported Mr. Macron’s presidency.
Another prominent Socialist appointment is that of former Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who will now take over the foreign affairs portfolio.
9.Apple to start initial production of iPhone SE in Bengaluru this month :-
U.S. tech giant Apple Inc. on Wednesday said it is beginning initial production of a “small number” of ‘iPhone SE’ in the city and start shipping to domestic customers this month.
“We are beginning initial production of a small number of iPhone SE in Bengaluru.
iPhone SE is the most popular and powerful phone with a four-inch display in the world and we’ll begin shipping to domestic customers this month,” Apple said in Bengaluru.
The Karnataka government had in February announced Apple Inc.’s proposal to commence initial manufacturing operations in Bengaluru.
10.Swachh Rail Survey: Chandigarh ranked 48 in A-1, Beas cleanest in A category :-
In yet another setback for the UT administration, the Chandigarh Railway station was ranked 48 across the country in the A-1 category in the Swachh Rail survey, a part of the Swachh Survekshan 2017.
The stations which contribute more than Rs 50 crore a year in passenger revenue are considered to be A-1 stations ,while A category stations contribute between Rs 6 crore and Rs 50 crore as annual passenger revenue.
Last year, Chandigarh was ranked 6th in A-1 category and 32 overall in the survey conducted by IRCTC, which was based on passenger interviews conducted at stations on various parameters of cleanliness.
The second survey was conducted by the Quality Council of India (QCI) at 407 major railway stations -75 A-1 category and 332 A category stations of the Indian Railways.
