India, South Korea seal logistics pact

NATIONAL NEWS

India, South Korea seal logistics pact

• India and South Korea concluded a military logistics agreement during the ongoing visit of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Seoul. The two countries also formulated a forward-looking road map to take bilateral defence industry cooperation to the next level.
• India will be able to get assured logistic support when it operates in the Indo-Pacific in the ports of South Korea. Such agreements extend the reach, presence and sustainability of Navy ships when deployed at great distances from home ports.

UNESCO, Rajasthan govt join hands to promote state's intangible cultural heritage

• UNESCO India and the Rajasthan government's tourism department today signed a partnership agreement to promote community-based responsible tourism based on the rich intangible cultural heritage of the state.
• UNESCO and the Rajasthan government joined hands to promote music, art and craft forms, and other intangible cultural heritage of the state to spur socio-economic growth of several artist communities.
• The project, which will run for around three-and-a-half years, will be implemented in Jodhpur, Barmer, Jaisalmer and Bikaner districts.

MEETING

Piyush Goyal to attend crucial RCEP meet in Bangkok

• Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will head to Bangkok to meet trade ministers from countries negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
• Goyal will attend the 7th RCEP ministerial meeting at a time when deep divisions have formed within the government as key ministries such as agriculture, steel and animal husbandry, etc. have opposed the plan, arguing it will lead to an influx of cheap Chinese imports.

APPOINTMENT

Vijay Kumar Chopra elected PTI Chairman

• Vijay Kumar Chopra, Chief Editor of the Group of newspapers, was unanimously elected Chairman of Press Trust of India (PTI), the country’s premier news agency.
• Mr. Chopra, 87, succeeds N. Ravi, Publisher and former Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu.
• Vineet Jain, Managing Director of Bennett Coleman and Company Limited, the publisher of was elected Vice-Chairman.

Arif Mohammad Khan sworn in as new Kerala Governor 

• Former Union minister and veteran politician Arif Mohammad Khan was sworn in as the 24th Governor of Kerala.
• Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court Hrishikesh Roy administered Khan the oath of office at the Raj Bhawan here. He took the oath first in Malayalam.
• Khan replaces P. Sathasivam, a former Chief Justice of India, who demitted office after the end of his five-year term and returned to his home town Erode in Tamil Nadu.

B Bala Bhaskar appointed next Indian Ambassador to Norway

• Senior diplomat B Bala Bhaskar was appointed as the next Indian Ambassador to Norway.
• Informing about the appointment, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, "Dr B. Bala Bhaskar (IFS: 1993) has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Norway.
• Bhaskar will replace Krishan Kumar, who has been heading the Indian mission in Norway since July 2018.

FACTS

Prime Minister of Norway-Erna Solberg

Norway Capital-Oslo

Currency-Norwegian Krone

RESIGN

Transferred to Meghalaya, Madras High Court Chief Justice Vijaya K Tahilramani likely to quit

• The Chief Justice of Madras High Court, Vijaya K Tahilramani seems to have expressed her intent to resign from her post.
• she is going to resign and would like to submit her resignation letter to competent authorities.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Chandrayaan-2: Isro loses contact with Vikram lander moments before touchdown

• It was an anxious moment for scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) and millions in India and abroad when Vikram Lander of Chandrayaan-2 lost contact with Isro's ground control, just moments before its scheduled landing.
• Vikram Lander was moving as per pans but just 2.1 km above Moon's surface, it lost contact with ground control centre.

OBITUARY

Pakistan spin legend Abdul Qadir dies of cardiac arrest

• Abdul Qadir, the former Pakistan leg spinner, died after a cardiac arrest at the age of 63 in Lahore.
• Abdul Qadir played 67 Test and 104 ODIs for Pakistan. He was an integral part of the Pakistan team of the 1980s and was the go-to bowler for then-captain Imran Khan.
• Qadir worked as Pakistan chief selector in 2009 and it was the squad that was selected by him that went on to win the ICC World T20 in England.

Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s strongman ex-president, dies aged 95

• Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean independence icon turned authoritarian leader, has died aged 95.
• He was ousted in a military coup in 2017 after 37 years in power.
• The former president was praised for broadening access to health and education for the black majority.
• But later years were marked by violent repression of his political opponents and Zimbabwe's economic ruin.

FACTS

Zimbabwe Capital-Harare

Zimbabwe Currency- Zimbabwean dollar.

Congress leader Sukhdev Singh Libra passes away at 87

• Congress leader and former MP Sukhdev Singh Libra passed away after a prolonged illness.

• Sukhdev Singh Libra died at the age of 87.

• He was the member of the 14th and 15th Lok Sabha’s. He was also a Punjab MLA in 1985. He was a member of Rajya Sabha from 1998-2004.