Daily Current Affairs Updates: 27 April 2015

1) Afghan President arrived in India on 3-day visit:

--> Ashraf Ghani arrived in India on his first state visit to India, seven months after took over as Afghanistan President.

--> After he assumed his office he visited China and Pakistan.

--> He has already met Modi during the SAARC summit in Kathmandu in November 2014.

2) ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi dead:

--> Radio Iran has claimed that ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has died.

--> Al-Baghdadi, believed to be in his 40s, had a $10 million US bounty on his head.

--> Since taking the reins of the Islamic State in 2010, he had transformed it from a local branch of al-Qaida into an independent transnational military force, positioning himself as perhaps the pre-eminent figure in the global jihadist community.

3) Capgemini acquires IGATE for $4 bn:

--> The Paris-headquartered Capgemini has announced the acquisition of New Jersey-based IGATE, which has operations in India, for $4 billion in cash.

--> The deal, one of the largest in the Indian information technology sector, will see the exit of IGATE co-founders Ashok Trivedi and Sunil Wadhwani, along with private equity firm Apax Partners.

4) Badminton player Lee Chong Wei gets backdated doping ban:

--> Malaysian shuttler Lee Chong Wei was handed a backdated eight-month ban for doping by the Badminton World Federation on 27 April 2015.

--> The 32-year-old Malaysian, twice an Olympic silver medallist, had been under a provisional suspension since November after testing positive for anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone during the world championships three months earlier.

5) Loretta Lynch sworn-in as the Attorney General of US:

--> Loretta Lynch was sworn in on 27 April 2015 as the 83rd Attorney-General, becoming the first African-American woman to serve as the top U.S. law enforcement official.

--> Vice-President Joe Biden administered the oath of office to Ms. Lynch (55) at a Justice Department ceremony.

--> Ms. Lynch replaces Eric Holder, who left the job after six years as head of the department.

6) Sudan President Omar al-Bashir re-elected:

--> Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir has won Presidential re-election by securing 94 per cent of the vote.

--> With this win he will have additional term of five years in office which will extend his current 25-year rule.

--> He is in power since 1989.

--> In this election Omar’s National Congress Party (NCP) also won 323 of 426 parliamentary seats.

7) INS Tarangini departed for “Lokayan-2015”:

--> INS Tarangini the Sail Training Ship of Indian Navy left from Kochi on an eight month voyage through Europe to participate in the annual Tall Ship Races and other events organised under the aegis of Sail Training International.

--> This year’s Tall Ship Races will be conducted primarily off the coast of United Kingdom, Norway, Denmark, Germany and Netherlands.

--> INS Tarangini, a three masted barque,built in Goa Shipyard Ltd and commissioned on 11 Nov 1997, is manned by 06 officers, 40 sailors and 30 trainees.

--> The theme for LOKAYAN -15 has been chosen as “TACKING FOR A BROADER REACH”.

8) India crowned champions at President's Cup Boxing Tournament:

--> Rakesh Kumar (69kg) and Harpal Singh (75kg) struck gold as India were crowned champions for the first time in the 22nd President's Cup Boxing Tournament in Palembang, Indonesia.

--> The Indian team logged 33 points to finish ahead of second-placed Mongolia after Rakesh and Harpal's gold medals took the country's total tally to four gold and a bronze at the end of the event. 

9) China`s Lin Dan won men`s title at Asia Championships:

--> China`s Lin Dan won the men`s singles at the Badminton Asia Championships in China on 26 April 2015, defending his title won last year in South Korea and adding another crown to an illustrious career.

--> Lin, the No. 2 seed, defeated compatriot Tian Houwei 21-19, 21-8 in a match that lasted 50 minutes in the central city of Wuhan.

--> In women`s singles, seventh seed Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand came from behind to upset top seed Li Xuerui of China 20-22, 23-21, 21-12 in a match that lasted 76 minutes.