Cyclone Fani leaves 12 dead in Odisha

A day after cyclonic storm Fani ravaged parts of Odisha, killing at least 12 people, restoration and relief work was launched on a war-footing on May 4 across 10,000 villages and urban areas. The extremely severe cyclonic storm, which made landfall in Puri, unleashed copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 200 km/h, blowing away thatched roofs of houses, swamped towns and villages, before weakening and entering West Bengal. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said nearly 12 lakh people were evacuated and shifted to safer locations from about 10,000 villages and 52 urban agglomerations, 24 hours ahead of the cyclone, “probably the largest such exercise at the time of a natural calamity in the country”.

Forex kitty swells by $4.7 bn to $418.5 billion

India’s foreign exchange reserves soared by $4.368 billion to $418.515 billion in the week to April 26, helped by the second dollar-rupee swap auction. In the swap auction conducted on April 23, the RBI had received bids worth $18.65 billion against $5 billion on offer. It accepted just five bids worth $5 billion. In the previous week, the forex reserves had declined by $739.2 million to $414.147 billion. In the reporting week, foreign currency assets - which are a major component of the overall reserves - rose by $4.387 billion to $390.421 billion. The forex kitty had touched an all-time high of $426.028 billion in the week to April 13, 2018. Gold reserves remained unchanged at $23.303 billion. The special drawing rights with the IMF was down by $5.9 million to $1.449 billion.

CEA included in Finance Commission panel

Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian has been included in the advisory council of the 15th Finance Commission as its member. The advisory council was set up in April 2018 to advise the commission on any issue or subject related to the terms of reference (ToR) of the commission, and also to assist in the preparation of any paper or research study which would enhance the commission’s understanding on the issue contained in its ToR. The council now has 12 members, including NIPFP professor Pinaki Chakraborty, noted economists Surjit Bhalla, Arvind Virmani, Indira Rajaraman and M. Govinda Rao. In December, the government appointed Subramanian of ISB, Hyderabad, as the chief economic adviser for three years. 

Thai king Vajiralongkorn crowned Rama X

King Maha Vajiralongkorn, Rama X of Thailand, was crowned on May 4 in a dazzling show of pageantry, vowing to reign “with righteousness” on behalf of the Thai people. King Vajiralongkorn is the 10th monarch of the Chakri dynasty, which has reigned since 1782. He ascended the throne two years ago following the death of his father, but waited until after a long mourning period before setting his coronation date. For most Thais, it is the first time they have witnessed the pomp and grandeur of a coronation - the last was in 1950 for the king’s father Bhumibol Adulyadej. Bhumibol was seen as a figure of unity in the politically chaotic kingdom until his death in October 2016. His 66-year-old son is less well-known to the Thai public, preferring to spend much of his time overseas.

ISRO eyes lunar South Pole for landing

With Chandrayaan 2, India’s second lunar mission, ISRO is planning to land a rover on the moon’s South Pole, a region that no one has explored until now. “Till date, nobody has made an attempt to land a rover in the region. It has been only near the equator (of the moon). We will be attempting to launch the rover (of Chandrayaan 2) in lunar South Pole for the first time,” said ISRO chairman K. Sivan. Earlier this week, ISRO has said all three modules of the moon mission - orbiter, lander (Vikram) and rover (Pragyan) - were getting ready for the launch scheduled in July and the lander was expected to touch down on the lunar surface in early September. ISRO has kept the launch window for the mission onboard GSLV MK-III rocket from July 9 to July 16 with an expected moon landing on September 6, Sivan said.

Trump targets Iran’s uranium production

The US acted on May 3 to force Iran to stop producing low-enriched uranium and expanding its only nuclear power plant, intensifying a campaign aimed at halting Tehran’s ballistic missile programme and curbing its regional power. At the same time, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo renewed waivers of US sanctions allowing Russia, China and European countries to pursue cooperation programmes designed to prevent Iran from reactivating a defunct nuclear weapons programme. But, the State Department said, the renewable waivers would be granted only for 90 days. The moves are part of Washington’s efforts to impose international political and economic isolation on Tehran that began with the US withdrawal in May 2018 from the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated with Iran by the US and other world powers.

India bats for reviving CCIT at the UN

After getting Pakistan-based JeM chief Masood Azhar blacklisted, India has given a clarion call at the UN for strengthening efforts to adopt the long-pending global convention on international terrorism amid increasing attacks on places of worship across the world. India proposed a draft document on the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) at the UN in 1996, but it has not been implemented as there is no unanimity on the definition of terrorism among members. The CCIT provides a legal framework, which makes it binding on all signatories to deny funds and safe havens to terrorist groups. Despite India’s efforts to push a global inter-governmental convention to tackle terrorism, the conclusion and ratification of the CCIT remains deadlocked, mainly due to opposition from three main blocs - the US, the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) and Latin American countries.

Newsmakers

US Air Force General Tod D. Wolters has been sworn in as the top military officer of the 29-nation NATO military alliance. The former pilot became Supreme Allied Commander Europe at a ceremony at NATO’s military headquarters in Mons, southern Belgium.

An article titled ‘Coalgate 2.0’ authored by Nileena M.S. and published in The Caravan in March last year has won the ACJ Award for Investigative Journalism, 2018. The story probes the allotment of captive coal blocks in Chhattisgarh’s Parba East and Kanta Basan regions. It explores deforestation, loss of livelihood and denial of forest rights to tribals.