12 June

International News Affairs

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi accepted an invitation to meet US President Donald Trump for the first time during his two-day visit to Washington DC from June 25.
  • The two leaders will hold discussions on enhancing bilateral ties in the meeting.
• The poverty-stricken unincorporated US territory of Puerto Rico today voted in favour of becoming the 51st US state with 97% voters supporting the referendum.
  • The final decision to accept Puerto Rico as a state lies with US Congress.

National News Affairs

• Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah has inaugurated the upgraded version of police helpline Namma 100, where police officials will be deputed within 15 minutes to the spot of emergency, for Bengaluru.
  • Based on the model adapted in London, which has helpline 999, and USA, where 911 helpline operates, Namma 100 helpline allows the public to access several facilities on a single number.
• The Meghalaya Assembly today passed a resolution against the Centre’s ban on sale of cattle for slaughter.
  • It said that “the order will hamper the rights of the people”, adding that laws for cattle are already in place.
• Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu has demand for a separate time zone for the northeastern states to improve work efficiency and save electricity in the region. According to him, several daylight hours are getting wasted as government offices opens only at 10am and closes as early as 4pm.

Awards & Honors

• Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar was today honored with the Bharat Gaurav Award at the United Nations hall in New York.
  • He dedicated his win to the Indian Armed Forces and their families.
  • Note : Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and late astronaut Kalpana Chawla were among the other honourees this year.

New Appointments

• Amit Sinha, the Vice President of business and human resources at Paytm’s parent company One97 Communications, has been appointed as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Paytm Mall.
  • He will be responsible for Paytm Mall’s overall operations, hiring, and logistics.
  • Note : Last year, Paytm de-merged its three-year-old e-commerce business into a separate unit—Paytm Mall.
• Technocrat Shashi Shekar Vempati took over as the CEO of Prasar Bharti 
  • Note : He is the first non-Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer to head the public broadcaster which runs Doordarshan (DD) and All India Radio (AIR).

Science & Technology

• The US Navy today commissioned a new warship, USS Gabrielle Giffords, in the name of former Arizona congresswoman who was severely injured in a 2011 shooting, as a tribute to her perseverance.

Deaths

• Legendary Telugu poet and writer C Narayana Reddy (85), a recipient of the prestigious Jnanpith award, passed away today.

Current Sports Affairs

• Mercedes’ British Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton registered his Formula One career’s 6th Canadian Grand Prix title in Montreal today.
• Indian shooters Jitu Rai and Heena Sidhu won Gold in the 10-metre air pistol mixed team event at the ISSF World Cup 
• Rafael Nadal has won his 10th French Open Title in Men’s singles category by beating Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland.
  • French Open 2017 Winners List
    • Men’s Singles : Rafael Nadal (Spain)
    • Women’s Singles : Jeļena Ostapenko (Latvia)
    • Men’s Doubles : Ryan Harrison (United States) / Michael Venus(New Zealand)
    • Women’s Doubles : Bethanie Mattek-Sands (United States) / Lucie Šafářová (Czech Republic)
    • Mixed Doubles : Gabriela Dabrowski (Canada) / Rohan Bopanna (India)