Current Affairs Today – May 11 2015

[dropcap]D[/dropcap]ear Readers, We cover some important news in Bulletin Today Section, which are not covered in Daily Brief News, More Current Affairs coverage will helpful for upcoming exam.

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Brief News

• National Technology Day on May 11
• Satish Reddy named as New chief of National Safety Council
• K V Kamath appointed as the head of New Development Bank of BRICS nations
• Vikas Gowda won gold at Jamaican International meet
• India, Russia signed 11 MoIs for Higher Academic Cooperation

Bulletin News

Awards

Agnes Varda to receive Palme d’Or

• French director Agnes Varda will be honoured with the prestigious Palme d’Or at the upcoming Cannes International Film Festival for the global impact of her body of work.
• The 86-year-old becomes the first woman to be selected for this distinction.

Indian Affairs 

Jayaram Jayalalitha cleared of corruption charges

• An appeals court in southern India has acquitted powerful regional politician Jayaram Jayalalitha of corruption charges, clearing the way for her to return to public office.
• The High Court of Karnataka delivered its verdict on the appeal by former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalitha challenging a special court order convicting her in the disproportionate assets case.
• Supporters from Jayalalitha’s party cheered, set off fire crackers and danced in the streets of the Tamil Nadu state capital of Chennai, her hometown, after the Karnataka High Court in Bangalore delivered its verdict.

International Affairs

British-Indian Priti Patel appointed UK’s employment minister

• British-Indian MP Priti Patel has been appointed employment minister in Prime Minister David Cameron’s new cabinet.
• Patel, 43, who comfortably won her Witham seat in England’s Essex county as a Conservative Party candidate in last week’s general elections by getting 57.5 percent of the total 47,339 votes cast, was in 2013 appointed the first ever UK Indian Diaspora Champion.

China becomes world’s top crude buyer despite economy stuttering

• China overtook the United States as the world’s top importer of crude oil for the first time in April, and its purchases are expected to remain strong despite a slowing economy, with far-reaching consequences for global oil and commodities markets.
• China is already the world’s biggest energy consumer, with oil by far the largest traded energy market.
• The Saudi-led decision by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in November 2014 not to cut production despite the slide in oil prices has been largely motivated by an effort to defend market share against outside competitors like Russia or US shale producers.

President Mukherjee inaugurates ‘Namaste Russia’ in Moscow

• President Pranab Mukherjee, currently on his four-day official visit to Russia, has inaugurated a festival of Indian Culture ‘Namaste Russia’ in Moscow.
• As part of the festival, the Russian Ministry of Culture will support the initiatives of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) in sending Indian teachers of music and dance to regional centres in Russia from May 2015 to October 2015.
• Special emphasis will be on encouraging the participation of youth of both the countries in cultural exchanges.
• The logo for the festival was designed by a young Russian from the Russian town of Krasnoyarsk, who succeeded in an open competition participated by both Indians and Russians.

Business & Finance 

Tata Communications ties up with China Telecom Global

• Tata Communications announced a video network partnership with China Telecom Global to enable and manage media content for customers in China and globally.
• The tie-up enables China Telecom Global to leverage its worldwide reach, along with Tata Communications’ Global Video Network to offer live sporting events in China.
• The partnership will cater to a market opportunity of USD 2.57 billion.

Uninor CFO Vivek Anand quits

• Uninor’s Chief Financial Officer Vivek Anand has resigned, about a year after joining the company.
• Mr. Anand had joined Uninor in May 2014 after its then CFO Prasoon Sinha was elevated to handle Group Finance function at headquarters in Oslo.

Sports

Bopanna is now country’s No 1 doubles player

• India’s Rohan Bopanna gained three places to be world number 21, following his stupendous title win at the Madrid Open with Romanian partner Florin Mergea.
• Bopanna gained 1000 points for his efforts and is now country’s top ranked player in the ATP doubles chart.

BRICS U-17 football tournament to be held in India

• Apex industry body ASSOCHAM has proposed a BRICS Under-17 Football Cup in India next year and a Memorandum of Understanding is set to be signed tomorrow with Brazilian representatives here.
• The MoU will be signed by Project Leader and Tournament Organiser, Joao Gilberto Vaz and Secretary General ASSOCHAM, D S Rawat in the presence of Sports Secretary Ajit Sharan.

Kamalpreet wins hammer throw event in United States

• National record holder Kamalpreet Singh won the men’s hammer throw event with 69.61m at the Sacramento State Open in United States.
• Kamalpreet, representing as an unattached athlete, came up with a throw of 69.61m off his sixth and final attempt. Kamalpreet had improved his own national record to 70.38m at an invitational event at the same venue recently.

Obituary

Actress Elizabeth Wilson dies

• Stage and screen actress Elizabeth Wilson has died. She was 94.
• She was best known for her collaborations with acclaimed filmmaker Mike Nichols, most notably in 1967’s “The Graduate”, in which she played Dustin Hoffman’s on-screen mother.
• Nichols also directed Wilson in his films “Catch-22”, “The Day of the Dolphin” and “Regarding Henry”.