1. Karnataka Election: Congress won with thumping Majority, CM still to be selected
2. PM Modi to visit Papua New Guinea with focus on Pacific Summit, diaspora, and MoUs
3. Jaishankar slams ‘opaque’ lending practices, violations of ‘long-standing’ agreements in Indo-Pacific
4. Violent clashes in Maharashtra’s Akola over ‘offensive’ Instagram post kills 1, Sec 144 imposed
5. Infiltration bid by terrorists foiled in Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir

What Else

6. ‘Tech-savvy officer with focus on forensic driven investigations’ – who’s Praveen Sood, new CBI director
7. SCO member states support adoption of Indian digital assets: Vaishnaw
8. Imran Khan’s arrest: IHC grants bail for two weeks and bars arrest in all cases till Mon
9. Macron Says Russia Becoming a Vassal of China Amid Ukraine War
10. China will transfer high-speed railway tech to Thailand, engineers say
11. After 20 years in UK, British chair professor joins China’s hypersonic program
12. Hambantota port with China can’t be used for war, Sri Lankan minister Nimal Siripala de Silva

Karnataka Election: Congress won with thumping Majority, CM still to be selected

• Congress Legislature Party on Sun unanimously decided to leave the selection of the leader to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge.
• Congress leader Randeep Surjewala announced that the party observers will take opinions from each MLA tonight and give the report to the AICC president.
• Surjewala, AICC in-charge of Karnataka, said, “Siddaramaiah, moved the single-line resolution authorizing AICC president to appoint a new leader of 135 Cong MLAs.
• The contest between its 2 top leaders, Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, for the CM post has intensified with their supporters on Sun putting up posters in support of their respective leaders.
• Karnataka went to the polls on May 10 for the 224-member state assembly and saw a record polling of 72.68%.
• Congress won 135 seats and the ruling BJP could manage to win 66 seats, while JDS bagged 19 seats plus 2 Independents. (here)
• In this election, BJP got 36%, Congress 42.88%, and JDS 13.29% while in the 2018 election, BJP got 36.35%, Congress: 38.14%, and JDS: 18.3%.

PM Modi to visit Papua New Guinea with focus on Pacific Summit, diaspora, and MoUs

• PM Modi is set to visit Papua New Guinea on 21-22 May, with a focus on the India-Pacific Islands Cooperation Summit, signing several MoUs, and meeting the diaspora.
• The visit is expected to strengthen the bilateral relations between the two and further enhance support in various fields, including trade, investment, and cultural exchange.
• Ahead of the visit, the PM of PNG, James Marape, held a meeting with Indian High Commissioner to PNG and Chief Liaison Officer on May 12, to discuss the visit.
• In a statement, the PNG PM said that his country is “ready to host Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi from May 21-22“.
• During the visit, the two are expected to sign multiple MoU in MSMEs strengthen economic ties, and exchange proposals aimed at enhancing cooperation.
• Interestingly, the visit will coincide with US President Biden’s presentation of the country and meeting with leaders of the Pacific. (here)

Jaishankar slams ‘opaque’ lending practices, violations of ‘long-standing’ agreements in Indo-Pacific

• Without naming the dragon, EAM S. Jaishankar spoke against nations violating “long-standing agreements” and “opaque” lending practices in the Indo-Pacific
• He was delivering an address at the 6^th Indian Ocean Conference inaugurated by Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka, Fri.
• Speaking, the foreign minister said a stable international order relies on 3 principles — adhering to the law, observing norms, and respecting rules.
• “When nations disregard their legal obligations or violate long-standing agreements, as we have seen, the damage to trust and confidence is immense,” said Jaishankar.
• The 2-day conference starting Fri has been jointly organized by the Bangladesh foreign ministry and a Delhi-based research center, India Foundation.
• It has seen the participation of representatives from 25 countries, mostly from the IOR.
• Meanwhile, no participants or speakers from China took part in this year’s conference unlike in the past. (here)
• Jaishankar makes a strong pitch for India to the EU to invest in India and says it’s in the interests of the EU, as the EU seeks a multipolar world, which cannot be without a multipolar India.
• China ‘a friend’ but ties with India ‘at different level’: Bangladesh MoS Foreign Affairs

Violent clashes in Maharashtra’s Akola over ‘offensive’ Instagram post kills 1, Sec 144 imposed

• Violent clashes and stone pelting between two groups were reported in Akola, Maha’s on Sat night, police clamp prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPc.
• 1 person was killed and 8 others, including 2 cops, were injured in the clashes and a heavy police force had to be deployed in the area to restore law and order, police said.
• The clashes erupted in the Old City police station area of Akola. 26 arrested
• The clash between the members of 2 religions erupted over an allegedly offensive Instagram post on the Prophet, which was deleted later. (here)

Infiltration bid by terrorists foiled in Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir

• An infiltration bid by terrorists was foiled in J&K early on Fri.
• An exchange of fire was reported between the security troops and terrorists, in the Uri sector of the UT.
• The Pakistan side attempted to fly a quadcopter in the area, which was fired upon by the Indian side.
• On Thu, J&K Police Chief, Dilbag Singh directed strict monitoring of activities of all the elements attempting to revive the terror structure from across the border.
• Singh visited the Mahore area in Reasi district, where he chaired a joint meeting of officers from the police and the army and also reviewed the security and crime scenario.
• He directed the officers to be vigilant on all fronts, particularly while keeping track of movements of anti-national elements and their supporters.
• He impressed upon the officers to monitor the activities of all suspects besides the elements attempting to revive the terror structure from across the border. (here)

‘Tech-savvy officer with focus on forensic driven investigations’ – who’s Praveen Sood, new CBI director

• Karnataka police chief Praveen Sood was appointed as the next director of the Central Bureau of Investigation for two years Sun.
• Sood brought in a “technological revolution in policing” and key reforms in cyber crime Investigation.
• Sood will take charge once Subodh Kumar Jaiswal completes his tenure on 25 May.
• A graduate of IIT Delhi, Sood has served in key positions across the state including Bellary, Raichur, and erstwhile Bangalore.
• Although he was to retire in May 2024, he would be in office till 2025 since the CBI director’s post has a fixed tenure of two years.
• In Mar, state Congress leader D.K. Shivakumar called Sood ‘nalayak’ and also vowed to take action against him once his party came to power. (here)

SCO member states support adoption of Indian digital assets: Vaishnaw

• Members SCO support the adoption of Indian digital public infrastructure such as Aadhaar, UPI, DigiLocker and CoWin, IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Sat
• The SCO grouping includes Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and India.
• DPI is important from the perspective of making sure that technology is democratized, Vaishnaw said.
• Approximately 74 billion UPI transactions worth ₹125.94 lakh crore were conducted in 2022, NPC India data show.
• In 2021, the UPI platform handled more than 38 billion transactions, amounting to ₹71.54 lakh crore.
• Using CoWin, India’s Covid-19 vaccination app, 2.2 billion doses have been administered so far.
• India also shared with member states about investing $3 billion to take mobile connectivity to villages in remote areas and $5 billion to bring broadband connectivity to all 250 thousand village councils, the ministry statement said. (here)

[NEIGHBORHOOD]

Imran Khan’s arrest: IHC grants bail for two weeks and bars arrest in all cases till Mon

• Internet services resume after a 3-day shutdown, but access to social media platforms remains restricted for some
• PTI supporters take to the streets with placards saying ‘Aaeen bachao, Pakistan bachao’
• PM Shehbaz wants miscreants to be arrested in 72 hours
• Enraged PDM-led govt to protest outside SC on Mon (May 15)
• Riots caused damage worth Rs250m in Islamabad: report– A series of violent protests provoked by the arrest of former PM Khan caused damages to the tune of Rs250 million to private and public property.
• The Rawalpindi police have arrested 76 suspects allegedly involved in the attack on the General Headquarters in the garrison city.
• Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan is deeply concerned by reports of random arrests and cases filed arbitrarily against PTI workers across Pakistan.
• A distinction must always be made between those resorting to violence and nonviolent political workers. (here)
• Imran Khan arrest: ‘Afghans involved’ in PTI’s riots, violence in Peshawar– Security sources have claimed that the PTI leadership carried out the riots by paying huge amounts to Afghan citizens.
• The agencies have released an alleged confessional statement following a spree of arrests.
• The sources said confessions of 3 Afghan citizens have been released, while an investigation with others is underway. (here)
• Outside SC or D-Chowk: PDM to decide on sit-in venue today: Despite 2 rounds of meetings, the federal govt’s team failed to convince PDM President Fazlur Rehman to change the venue of the sit-in and announced that a new place of protest gathering would be decided by Mon with the consultation of the head of all allied parties. (here)
• Sanaullah- Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah has said that the decision regarding the venue for protests, planned by the PDM against the Supreme Court.

[Meanwhile, the local news persons claimed that the current dispensation may get set back from SC, for not executing the election as per the order of the court]

Macron Says Russia Becoming a Vassal of China Amid Ukraine War

• Russia has “already lost geopolitically” its war in Ukraine war and is effectively becoming a vassal state of China, French President Macron said in an interview.
• “De facto, it has entered a form of subservience with regards to China and has lost its access to the Baltic, which was critical,” Macron told the Opinion newspaper.
• “Let’s be clear, Russia must not win this war militarily. So it’s up to us to see how to help the Ukrainians with their counter-offensive,” he said. (here)

China will transfer high-speed railway tech to Thailand, engineers say

• China has agreed to pass on some of its know-how to Thailand so that the latter can develop its high-speed railway network, according to Chinese engineers.
• Under Chinese law, companies and individuals must obtain govt approval to export technologies that are deemed critical to national security or economic interests.
• China has the world’s largest high-speed rail network, which was built in just 15 years.
• The network spans more than 40,000km – or long enough to circle the Earth.
• The country’s engineering experience, knowledge, and technology could be useful to others wanting to build similar infrastructure rapidly and at a relatively low cost. (here)

After 20 years in UK, British chair professor joins China’s hypersonic program

• After more than 20 years in Britain as a physicist dedicated to unveiling the secrets of superfast fluids, Zhang Yonghao has joined China’s new national hypersonic laboratory
• The Chinese govt hired Zhang as a top-tier expert from overseas to lead an innovation team at the national key Laboratory of Sci & Tech on aerothermodynamics in hypersonic flight at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Mechanics.
• Zhang’s team will develop advanced computational models for simulating gases’ behavior at high speeds and temp, crucial in making hypersonic vehicles more efficient.
• Their investigation into high-temperature aerodynamic and thermal effects on materials is crucial because hypersonic vehicles must withstand extreme temperatures and pressures during flight. (here)

Hambantota port with China can’t be used for war, Sri Lankan minister Nimal Siripala de Silva

• Sri Lanka’s Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva on Hambantota and Colombo ports, investments by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani in the country, and more.
• “We have excellent relations with India. India is helping and we are reciprocating,” de Silva told on the sidelines of the 6^th International Indian Ocean Conference.
• “We have to be mindful about the security of India. We have a very friendly relationship,” the minister emphasized.
• “We have requested India to come to Trincomalee port and do the value addition,” he said, in an invitation for New Delhi to invest in the port, located about 262 km SW of Colombo
• The minister added that while Colombo had to sell the Hambantota port to China, it has ensured that the port is not used for war or security purposes. (here)

[It’s like Colombo has control over Hambantota or Beijing believes in fair game]