(General Awareness For Bank's Exams) In the news
June - 2014

Juan Carlos Varela:

• Vice-President Juan Carlos Varela was declared the victor of Panama’s presidential election , thwarting an attempt by former ally President Ricardo Martinelli to extend his grip on power by electing a handpicked successor.

•  With 60 per cent of ballots counted, officials said Mr. Varela led with 39 per cent of the votes, compared to 32 per cent for former Housing Minister Jose Domingo Arias, the preferred choice of Mr. Martinelli. Juan Carlos Navarro, a former mayor of the capital, was in third in the seven-candidate field with 27 per cent.

•  The incumbent party has still never won re-election to Panama’s presidency since the United States’ 1989 overthrow of military strongman Manuel Noriega.

Amit Shah:

•  The CBI has sought dismissal of the plea by GopinathPillai, father of Javed Sheikh aliasPraneshPillai, who was among those killed with IshratJahan, to arraign NarendraModi aide Amit Shah and the then Ahmedabad police commissioner K.R. Kaushik in the case. MrPillai had cited the resignation letter of suspended IPS officer and an accused in the IshratJahan case D.G. Vanzara in support of his petition.

•  The agency, in its affidavit further, said that the resignation letter contains general allegations against some persons and not providing any concrete information about the role of Shah in this offence. After receiving the letter, CBI examined Vanzara in the jail. However, he has not disclosed any further details during his examinations”.

•  The CBI also said there was no evidence against MrKaushik to show his involvement in the encounter and so he was made a witness in the case. “During further investigation and evidence collected so far, it appears that MrKaushik was not involved in the conspiracy of killing the deceased.

LalitModi:

•  Following the election of LalitModi as president of Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) hits back by 'indefinitely' suspending the association. The cricket board also appointed an ad-hoc body to run RCA's cricket affairs.

•  Modi was elected President of RCA, setting the stage for yet another round of legal tussle between him and the Board, which had threatened to ban the state association in anticipation of this result.

•  The RCA elections were held in December last year but the results were sealed following a Supreme Court directive. And it was opened recently by a court-appointed observer with the former Indian Premier League commissioner defeating his opponent, Rampal Sharma. Ouf of the 33 votes, Modi got 24, while Sharma got five.

• The BCCI had asked the RCA to dissociate itself from Modi, or face action after the latter was banned for life for financial irregularities in the IPL in September 2013.

•  However, Modi – riding on the Rajasthan Sports Act 2005, contested the election for the post of president. The former Commissioner of the IPL was seeking to return to cricket administration.

Nita M. Ambani

• The board of directors of Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) has recommended the appointment of Chairman MukeshAmbani’s wife and Chairperson of Reliance Foundation Nita M. Ambani, as a director on the board of RIL.

•  She is being nominated to the board in place of Ramnik H. Ambani, who is retiring at the age of 90 years.

•  Approval of the shareholders will be sought in the 40th AGM being held on June 18.

NabamTuki

•  Veteran Congress leader NabamTuki was sworn in as Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh for the second consecutive term at the Raj Bhavan in Itanagar.

• Governor Lt. Gen. (Retd) Nirbhay Sharma administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mr. Tuki in an impressive function held at Darbar Hall of Raj Bhavan in Itanagar.

AdarshGoel

• The Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice of India R.M. Lodha has recently recommended the appointment of AdarshGoel, Arun Mishra, GopalSubramanium and RohintonNariman as apex court judges.

•  The recommendations are likely to be processed by the new government.

•  This is the first time that two persons from the Bar, the former Solicitors-General RohintonNariman and GopalSubramanium, are being elevated at one stroke.

NarendraModi

• NarendraModi who steered the BJP-led NDA to a stunning victory will be sworn in as Prime Minister on May 26 at RashtrapatiBhavan.

•  Mr. Modi was appointed as the Prime Minister by the President and was asked to advise the names of others to be appointed Members of the Council of Ministers.

•  Stepping out after his meeting with the President, he addressed the media briefly and held-up the formal letter of appointment as Prime Minister.

Naveen Patnaik

•  BijuJanata Dal president Naveen Patnaik was sworn-in as Chief Minister of Odisha for the fourth consecutive term in Bhubaneswar recently.

• As many as 21 other Members of the new Council of Ministers headed by Mr. Patnaik were also sworn-in at a well-attended ceremony held at the Raj Bhavan premises.

•  Mr. Patnaik had become the Chief Minister for the first time on March 5, 2000 when the BJD-BJP alliance came to power when the people ousted the Congress.

Anandiben Patel

•  Anandiben Patel will be sworn in as Gujarat's first woman chief minister in a ceremony attended by her predecessor NarendraModi who will be the country's next prime minister.

•  After MrModi resigned as chief minister, a position he had held for 13 years, his party's legislators elected Ms Patel to be their leader. MrModi's close aide Amit Shah, who does not share the warmest vibes with Ms Patel, was among those who endorsed her name for the chief minister's post.
   

VineetTaneja

• Stepping up the battle in the Indian mobile handset market, homegrown firm Micromax has roped in Samsung India’s mobile and IT business chief VineetTaneja as its new Chief Executive Officer.

•  Micromax, the country’s second-largest smartphone manufacturer, expects the move to help it further strengthen its position in the segment, which is witnessing explosive growth.

•  With over 25 years of experience, Mr. Taneja has worked with consumer brands like Hindustan Lever, Nokia and BhartiAirtel, prior to Samsung. He holds a degree in engineering from IIT-Roorkee and is an alumnus of IIM-Kolkata.

Ahmed Maitiq

•  Libya’s new Prime Minister Ahmed Maitiq and his cabinet swore-in amid objections raised to his election process.

•  Mr. Maitiq took his oath before President of the Parliament Nuri Abu Sahmain. He will wait for acting Prime Minister Abdullah Thinni to hand over his power.

•  Mr. Maitiq, a businessman educated in Britain, won a confidence vote in parliament after gaining 83 of the total 93 votes. But some politicians immediately challenged him, calling the vote “meaningless” as only 93 of the 200 lawmakers attended it.

Ranjit Kumar

•  Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar will be the next Solicitor-General as Mohan Parasaran resigned following the change of government at the Centre.

•  Mr. Kumar had been counsel for the Gujarat government and amicus curiae in several cases in the Supreme Court. He had represented Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in the disproportionate assets case pending in a Bangalore court.

Sachin Tendulkar

•  The 35 National Games to be held in seven cities in the State early next year will have cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar as its goodwill ambassador.

•  The idea was mooted by Chief Minister OommenChandy during his meeting with Mr. Tendulkar and responding to it, the cricketer was quick to nod his approval

CCI billiards title

•  Eight-time world champion PankajAdvani (ONGC) stamped his authority yet again by pocketing the billiards crown in the Cricket Club of India (CCI) Classic Billiards and Snooker tournament in Mumbai .

•  The Bangalore-based cueist defeated DhruvSitwala in the final. Advani, 27, also won the Highest Break award for the 530, which he scored against Devendra Joshi in the quarter-finals.

Validity of sports code

•  The Delhi high court has directed all National Sports Federations (NSF) to follow the national sports code. This simply means that the Union sports ministry's guidelines on age and tenure restriction have attained legal sanctity.

•  This is a shot in the arm for the ministry which suspended the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF) and Archery Association of India (AAI) for not implementing age and tenure directives. The court's directive will certainly make all NSFs accountable and their functioning transparent.

•  The sports ministry has repeatedly outlined that recognition to any NSF would rely on the current legal status of the organisation, recognition by the respective international federation, the Asian federation and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). The IOA had also challenged the government's authority, but the latest directive from the court has come as a jolt.

Most searched IPL player

•  Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper ViratKohli takes the top spot as the most searched IPL player this season, closely followed by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

•  Yuvraj Singh from Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captured the third position.

•  With one of the most stunning catches taken in cricket history against Royal Challengers Bangalore to his credit, IPL debutant Chris Lynn (KKR) takes the fourth spot as the most searched player.

•  Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) lead batsman VirendraSehwag may not have scored big runs on the ground yet, but continues to attract a lot of queries from his fans on Google Search, thus puttting him up at the fifth spot.

•  Royal Challengers big man Chris Gayle, Chennai Superkings Suresh Raina, and Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper ShikharDhawan are also among the top 10 trending IPL players on Google Search. 

Rome Masters

•  Serena Williams won her third title of the season as she delivered a crushing 6-3, 6-0 defeat to Sara Errani to win a third trophy at the Rome Masters .

•  The world number one now heads to the French Open on solid form after winning the week in Rome after withdrawing from a Madrid semi-final last weekend with a thigh injury.

•  Williams becomes the first player on the WTA to lift three trophies this season after beating Italy’s Errani for the seventh time with the loss of just one set in that series.

World's Highest Paid Footballer

• Barcelona and Lionel Messi have agreed an improved contract that will reportedly make the four-time World Player of the Year soccer's best-paid player with a net annual salary of 20 million euros ($27.4 million).

•  The Argentina captain would also regain control of his image rights, further boosting the income of a man Forbes magazine estimates is the 10th highest-earning athlete, with annual revenues of $41.2 million including wages and endorsements.

•  FC Barcelona has reached an agreement to adjust the terms in the contract binding Leo Messi to the club as a professional first team player.

•  Messi is Barca's all-time leading scorer with 354 goals in 424 official games and news of the deal is a boost for the club before Saturday's La Liga showdown against Atletico Madrid.

Violence in World cup venues

•  Protesters and police clashed in Sao Paulo , as demonstrations against the World Cup and rallies calling for improved public services erupted in several Brazilian cities.

•  Officers in Brazil's largest city fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters who set piles of rubbish alight to barricade a central avenue.

•  Demonstrators blasted the billions spent to host next month's football tournament and said they wanted to draw attention to what they called a lack of investment to improve poor public services.

•  Protesters staged a soccer game with dirty tactics, and one man put on a costume of a giant skeleton dressed as a Brazil player.

CCI billiards title

•  Eight-time world champion PankajAdvani (ONGC) stamped his authority yet again by pocketing the billiards crown in the Cricket Club of India (CCI) Classic Billiards and Snooker tournament in Mumbai .

•  The Bangalore-based cueist defeated DhruvSitwala in the final. Advani, 27, also won the Highest Break award for the 530, which he scored against Devendra Joshi in the quarter-finals.
   
  
   

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