Daily Current Affairs- 28 May 2024

Daily Current Affairs- 28th May 2024

INTERNATIONAL

Gitanas Nauseda re-elected as the President of Lithuania for 2nd term

• Gitanas Nauseda has been re-elected as the President of Republic of Lithuania for the 2nd 5 year term from 2024 – 2029.
• Gitanas Nauseda has won the President election by securing 74.43% of total votes, Ingrida Simonyte finished 2nd with 24.06 of total votes.
• This is the second time Nauseda and Simonyte have competed in a presidential run-off election. In 2019, Nauseda beat Simonyte with 66 percent of the vote. 

Ghana ties up with Reliance Jio arm, others for building 4G, 5G telecom infra

• Ghana’s NGIC teams up with Reliance Jio’s arm Radisys, Tech Mahindra, and Nokia to construct essential infrastructure for delivering affordable 5G mobile broadband services.
• Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Ghana’s Minister for Communication and Digitalisation, emphasizes India’s strategic relevance due to similar demographics and recent telecom advancements. Choosing Indian vendors over Chinese suppliers, Ghana seeks to benefit from India’s expertise in the field. 

NATIONAL

First Hydrogen plant of GAIL inaugurated in Vijaipur, MP

• The government of India-owned GAIL(India) Limited’s first green hydrogen plant has become operational at Vijaipur in Madhya Pradesh. This marks the entry of India’s largest natural gas transmission and distribution company in the green fuel business.
• The plant was jointly inaugurated by Pankaj Jain, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, and Sandeep Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director of GAIL. 

SPORTS

Charles Leclerc wins the Monaco Grand Prix

• Charles Leclerc won his first Monaco Grand Prix, while Oscar Piastri finished in second place and Carlos Sainz finished in third place.
• Leclerc’s victory, his first since the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix, came after a chaotic race marred by two standing starts and several first-lap collisions. Despite the challenges, the 26-year-old driver, who had previously failed to secure a podium finish in six previous attempts at the iconic race, started from pole position and controlled the race from the outset. 

SCIENCE & TEHNOLOGY

Microsoft Unveils AI-Powered Copilot+ PCs with Recall and Cocreate Features

• Microsoft unveiled Copilot+ PCs, a new class of Windows PCs powered by artificial intelligence (AI) at its Surface and AI event. Calling it “the fastest, most intelligent Windows PCs ever built”,
• The Windows maker highlighted that these computers will feature a special chipset capable of more than 40 trillion operations per second (TOPS). Further, these PCs will also offer new AI features such as Recall and Cocreate, as well as integration of third-party apps leveraging AI such as Adobe and CapCut. 

APPOINTMENS & RESIGNATIONS

Jetha Ahir Elected as new NAFED Chairman

• Jetha Ahir was elected uncontested as the chairman of the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) in the election held in Delhi. He was elected unopposed by the board comprising twenty-one directors, of which two are from Gujarat, including Rajkot MP Mohan Kundariya. He replaces Bijender Singh who held the coveted position as NAFED Chairman since 2007. 

Saudi Arabia Appoints Faisal bin Saud Al-Mejfel as Ambassador to Syria

• Saudi Arabia appointed Dr. Faisal Al-Mujfel as its first ambassador to Syria since relations were severed in 2012. This appointment comes after Saudi Arabia reopened its embassy in Syria earlier this year.
• The diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Syria initially deteriorated following the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, sparked by the crackdowns on popular protests. The war has since seen millions displaced and catalyzed humanitarian and economic crises in Syria. 

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Anasuya Sengupta, becomes first Indian to win Best Actress at Cannes Film Festival

• Anasuya Sengupta has made history by becoming the first Indian actor to win the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival. Anasuya received the trophy in the Un Certain Regard segment for her portrayal of Renuka in the film The Shameless. The movie has been written and directed by Bulgarian filmmaker Constantin Bojanov.
• The Shameless was screened at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on May 17. The film revolves around Renuka (played by Anasuya Sengupta), who manages to escape from a Delhi brothel after killing a police officer. In addition to Anasuya, the movie features Omara, Auroshikha Dey, and Rohit Kokate in pivotal roles. 

BANKING AND ECONOMY

TCS Secures Core Banking Transformation Deal with Kuwait’s Burgan Bank

• Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) a global leader in IT services, consulting, and business solutions, has signed a deal to modernize the core banking technology of Burgan Bank, a leading commercial bank in Kuwait. The bank will deploy TCS BaNCSTM to consolidate multiple standalone legacy applications into a contemporary universal banking solution that drives innovation and strengthens customer relationships.
• Burgan Bank is one of the youngest commercial banks in Kuwait, with a regional network of over 160 branches and 360 ATMs. It will harness the products of the TCS BaNCSTM suite such as core and digital banking, payments, retail and corporate loan origination, wealth management, regulatory compliance, and more to simplify and digitally transform its technology landscape. 

South African Regulator Fines SBI’s South Africa Branch

• The Prudential Authority of the South African Reserve Bank has imposed a financial penalty of 10 million rand (₹5 crore) on the State Bank of India’s South Africa branch for non-compliance with certain provisions of the country’s Financial Intelligence Centre Act 38 of 2001 (FIC Act).
• The penalty comprises an immediately payable portion of 5.50 million rand, already paid, and a suspended amount of 4.50 million rand, contingent on compliance within 36 months.