Important Current Affairs 15th May 2016

Milli Gazette Reporter Arrested

• Pushp Sharma, a Milli Gazette journalist was arrested on charges of cheating, forgery and promoting communal divide
• The reporter had alleged that the AYUSH Ministry does not recruit Muslims, as part of government policy.
• This report was in-turn dubbed false by the government, a stance which the newsmagazine still rejects

Fatma Samoura: 1st lady general of FIFA

• FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced the selection of a Senegalese female UN diplomat as the first ever female secretary general of the male-dominated FIFA.
• The move comes as a surprise since Samoura has been unknown in the football world.
• Samoura has been working with the UN over humanitarian crises for 21 years.

ISRO to launch Indian Space Shuttle

• In a historic move, ISRO has undertook the launch of an indigenous space shuttle, fully made in India this month.
• The Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) will be launched from the Sriharikota Port in Andhra Pradesh.
• The flight is aimed at testing the surviving capability of the vehicle of a re-entry at speeds higher than that of sound.

Polling Postponed in Aravakurichi

• The voting in Aravakurichi will be held on May 23 whereas it will be held on 16 in the rest of the state.
• The Election Commission has ordered FIRs and Income Tax raids at residents of numerous political leaders for cash for votes charge.
• The elections will see AIADMK’s Jayalalithaa battle out with DMK’s alliance with Congress’ representative M Karunanidhi

US welcomes India’s New IPR Policy

• The US Chamber of Commerce welcomed India’s new Intellectual Property Rights Policy deeming it as a necessary structural change in implementing a strong innovation model.
• It acknowledged the need of India’s innovative economy of an efficient IP protection and legal reforms.
• The tagline of the new IPR policy is “Creative India: Innovative India”

China reclaimed 3200 Acres in South Sea

• A new Pentagon report suggest that China has reclaimed 3,200 acres in south-eastern South China Sea and is developing and weaponising those regions to establish a strong maritime control.
• The airfields, ship facilities, weapons equipment and surveillance will let China strengthen its long-term presence in South China Sea.

Fossil of new species of dogs discovered

• ‘Cynarctus wangi’, a newly named ancient species of dogs has been discovered in North America, that lived 12 million years ago
• This species of digs resembles mini bears and falls under the category of bone crushing dogs, the extinct family of Borophaginae
• C wangi was probably survived by wolves, coyotes, foxes and other such canines today

Mallya’s Goa Villa Evacuated and Sealed

• Vijay Mallya’s three acre Goa villa which has been a tourist spot for years has now been evacuated of its staff and the bouncers hired by SBI have surrounded it.
• This move comes under the loan recovery process following a North Goa District Collector order
• Earlier there were attempts at auctioning the villa at a base price of Rs 150 crore which have been useless as of now

5000 Jobs Affected by Diesel Vehicle Ban

• SIAM mentioned that almost 5000 jobs have been affected by the diesel vehicle ban in Delhi-NCR.
• The ban has also led to a loss in production of around 11000 units.
• The report also asserted that the 2000-cc mark of engine capacity beyond which the ban is applicable is arbitrary and not directly linked with emissions.

Criminal Defamation Law Approved by SC

• Justices Dipak Misra and P C Pant gave a nod to the Constitutional validity of sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code
• It mentioned that free speech could not be allowed to take away another person’s right to dignity, protection of reputation.
• This move has paved way to bring Rahul Gandhi, Subramanian Swamy and Arvind Kejriwal under prosecution, who had been accused of criminal defamation