Current Affairs 9th May 2018: Daily GK Update

Dear Aspirants,

The General Awareness Section of Banking Exams covers numerous sections in it like Banking Awareness, Static GK, and Current Affairs. But the most important thing that you might have noticed is that both the Banking Awareness and Static Awareness questions asked in the General Awareness Section are based on Current Affairs only. The questions on Static and Banking Awareness are related to the countries, events or anything that has been in news for a while. Here is the Daily GK Update to get you acquainted with the top events that made the headlines today!!

Current Affairs 9th May 2018: Daily GK Update

National News

1. Walmart Buys Flipkart in World's Largest e-Commerce Deal

i. US-based retail giant Walmart has confirmed that it will buy 77% stake in India's largest e-commerce startup Flipkart for $16 billion.
ii. The acquisition, which is the largest e-commerce deal in the world, will value the homegrown startup at a reported amount of $20.8 billion.

International News

2. Forbes Most Powerful People In The World: PM Modi 9th, Xi Jinping Tops

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been ranked ninth on Forbes' 2018 list of 'the world's most powerful people'. Chinese President Xi Jinping ranked first, followed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump at the second and third rank, respectively.
ii. The only other Indian to feature on the list is Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani at 32. The PM Modi ranks ahead of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (who is at 13th spot).

Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-

Forbes- American Business Magazine, Founded in- 1917.
Headquarters- New York City, USA.

3. NASA, Uber Team Up to Make Flying Cars a Reality

i. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) signed a space act agreement with Uber Technologies to explore concepts and technologies related to Urban Air Mobility (UAM) for future air transportation such as flying cars in populated areas.
ii. Under the agreement, Uber will share its plans with NASA for implementing the urban aviation rideshare network.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-

Urban Air Mobility is a safe and efficient system for air vehicles, piloted or not, to move passengers and cargo within a city.
Jim Bridenstine has become the 13th administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
NASA founded on 29th July 1958, Headquarters in- Washington, D.C., USA.

4. September 2019 Climate Summit to be Held in New York: UN Chief

i. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced to hold a climate summit in September 2019 in New York to review the commitments of the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
ii. In March 2018, Guterres appointed former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg as his Special Envoy for Climate Action who was tasked to support the United Nations (UN) in its climate strategy and in organising the 2019 summit.

5. The USA Withdraws From Iran Nuclear Deal

i. President Donald Trump announced US withdrawal from the 2015 landmark nuclear deal with Iran. Mr Trump signed a fresh set of sanctions against Iran and warned countries against any cooperation with Tehran on its controversial nuclear weapons programme.
ii. The historic nuclear deal was reached in Vienna in July 2015 between Iran and the P5 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council) along with Germany and the European Union.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council are China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

Appointments

6. FB Appoints Product Exec Chris Daniels to Take Over WhatsApp

i. Facebook has announced that the company's Vice President of Product Chris Daniels will be taking over Whatsapp after Co-founder Jan Koum announced his departure, recently.
ii. In his new role, former Internet.org VP Daniels will report to Facebook's Chief Product Officer. Daniels has been working with Facebook for more than seven years and previously worked for Microsoft in product management.

7. Nikol Pashinyan Becomes Prime Minister of Armenia

i. Armenia’s parliament elected Nikol Pashinyan as a new prime minister in a 59-42 vote. His election comes after Serzh Sargsyan’s resignation as Prime minister of Armenia.
ii. Nikol Pashinyan is the leader of Civil Contract party. He is a former newspaper editor.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-

Armenia Capital- Yerevan, Currency- Armenian dram, President- Armen Sarkissian.

8. Google Names Nitin Bawankule Head of India Cloud Business

i. Google had appointed Nitin Bawankule as the country head for its cloud business in India, as the search giant looks at taking a larger share of the booming demand for those services in the country.
ii. Bawankule has been with Google for six years and was previously head of sales for its e-commerce, retail and classifieds and education business.

9. Carlos Alvarado Sworn in as Costa Rican President

i. Carlos Alvarado was sworn in as the new President of Costa Rica. Alvarado swept to victory against conservative Protestant singer Fabricio Alvarado Munoz.

ii. At 39, Alvarado is the country's youngest president in modern history.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-