PERSONS IN NEWS
A) APPOINTMENTS
Nasim Zaidi Takes Over as new CEC
Nasim Zaidi took over as the 20th Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India on 19 April.He is India’s 20th CEC and succeeded Hari Shankar Brahma, who had retired on April 18, 2015.
Loretta Lynch Sworn In As U.S. Attorney General
Loretta Lynch on 27 April 2015 was sworn-in as the United States’ 83rd Attorney General, the first African-American woman to serve as the nation’s top law enforcement official. She succeeded former attorney general Eric Holder, who left the position on 24 April 2015 after serving as Attorney General for six years.
B)RESIGNS
ICC president Mustafa Kamal Resigned
International Cricket Council (ICC) President A.H.M. Mustafa Kamal resigned from his post on 1 April.Mustafa Kamal is a Bangladeshi politician and cricket official. Apart from being the President of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), he was also functioning as the President of ICC since 2014. He resigned from this post as he was apparently hurt at not being given the opportunity to hand out the World Cup trophy to champions Australia.
C)DEATHS
Nobel Laureate German Novelist Gunter Grass Died
German Nobel laureate novelist Guenter Grass was died on 13 April in Luebeck, Germany. He was 87. He was a novelist, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor and recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature. His writings mainly focused on the Nazi era, the horrors of the war and the destruction and guilt that remained after defeat of Germany.
D)VISITORS
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Visited France
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited France from 9-11 April 2015. During the visit, Narendra Modi met with French President Francois Hollande and had talks with business leaders of select French companies in defence and infrastructure sectors. India and France signed 17 agreements in various fields.These included deals on Rafale fighter jets, Jaitapur nuclear reactor, renewable sources of energy, railways, smart city and several others. Among other agreements signed between India and France , an important agreement was struck on both the countries proceeding forward on the stalled nuclear project in Jaitapur in Maharashtra.Narendra Modi visited the CNES (National Centre for Space Studies) and the Airbus A 380 Assembly Line Facility in Toulouse, France. He gifted a painting titled Tree of Life, reflecting traditional societal respect for nature in India to the French President Francois Hollande.
E)MISCELLANEOUS
Minor Planet Named as ‘4538 Vishyanand’
Michael Rudenko, a committee member of the Minor Planet Center on 1 April officially named a minor planet as 4538 Vishyanand, to honour India’s first chess grandmaster, Vishwanathan Anand.The main-belt minor planet was discovered between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter by Kenzo Suzuki in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on 10 October 1988. Since its discovery, the planet remained unnamed.