1.SC nominee denounces Trump’s comments on judges :-
United States Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch denounced President Donald Trump’s public comments about judges hearing the case against the travel ban on citizens of seven Muslim majority countries, according to two U.S Senators who interacted with the judge as part of his confirmation process.
2.Aadhaar mandatory for availing subsidised foodgrains from PDS :-
After cooking gas LPG, the government on Thursday made Aadhaar mandatory for availing subsidised foodgrains from the ration shops with a view to better target ₹1.4 lakh crore subsidy under the food security law.
3.Tata Steel signs agreement with Liberty House to sell speciality steel business for 100 million pounds :-
Tata Steel has signed definitive agreements with U.K. based Liberty House for sale of its speciality steel business for total consideration of 100 million pounds that covers several South Yorkshire-based assets and service centres in U.K. and China.The speciality steel business employs 1700 people making steel for the aerospace, automotive and oil & gas industries.
4.Now, Pakistan claims India building ‘secret nuclear city’ :-
Pakistan on Thursday claimed that India was building a “secret nuclear city” and had accumulated a stockpile of nuclear weapons “which threatens to undermine the strategic balance of power in the region.”
5.India hands over extradition request for Mallya to the UK :-
India on Thursday handed over to the UK an extradition request for absconding businessman Vijay Mallya who is facing cases of loan default and other financial irregularities.
6.Sebi to form new Fintech committee :-
The Securities Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is forming an advisory committee on financial technology or fintech-related issues, which would look at safeguards that can be put in place to facilitate Crowdfunding of ‘genuine’ ventures, and mobilise more household savings into the financial markets using technology solutions.
7.U.S., Russian warships in Arabian Sea for naval exercise hosted by Pak :-
Warships from various countries, including Russia, China and the United States, have arrived in the Arabian Sea near Karachi to take part in a multi-nation naval exercise hosted by Pakistan. Code-named as Aman (peace)-17, the 5-day long event, intended to clear the waters of pirates, will start from Friday.
8.Intellectual Property index: India remains near bottom :-
India remains near the bottom in an international Intellectual Property (IP) index by being ranked 43rd out of 45 countries, according to a report by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC).Only two countries were ranked below India – Pakistan (44th) and Venezuela (45th).
9.Kenya court blocks closing of Dadaab — world’s biggest refugee camp :-
A Kenyan court ruled on Thursday that the government must not close the world’s largest refugee camp and send more than 2,00,000 people back to war-torn Somalia, a decision that eases pressure on Somalis who feared the camp would close by the end of May.
10.There is a disconnect between ruling party leaders and people of Tamil Nadu: Chidambaram :-
Former Finance Minister in the UPA government, P. Chidambaram has come out with a new book, ‘Fearless in Opposition’ (Rupa Publications), at a time when his home State of Tamil Nadu is going through a period of political churn.
11.‘M&A activity to surge by 2019’ :-
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity is set to more than double to $49.3 billion in 2019, according to a report by global law firm Baker McKenzie.
India will also see a strong growth in the number of IPOs over the next four years.
12.Trump resets Asia outreach, writes to Xi Jingping, invites Abe to play golf :-
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has reset his Asia outreach on a temperate note, writing a conciliatory letter to China’s leader Xi JinPing and hosting Japan’s Prime Minister Abe for round of golf this weekend.
