1) TR Zeliang appointed as Chief Minister of Nagaland by Governor
•TR Zeliang has been appointed as the Chief Minister of Nagaland by Governor PB Acharya. This will be the second term for Zeliang, his earlier term was from 2014 to 2017.
•Zeliang's appointment came after Nagaland Chief Minister Shurhozelie Liezietsu and nine ruling Naga People’s Front (NPF) legislators failed to appear for the floor test. Zeliang was asked to prove his majority on the floor of the House on or before 22 July 2017. Zeliang claims the support of 43 MLAs including seven independents.
2) US Navy tests world’s first Laser Weapons System
•The U.S. Navy recently tested the world's first-ever active laser weapons system, which is now deployed and ready for war. The system has special materials that release photons and at the speed of light, it silently hits an object, burning it to a temperature of thousands of degrees.
•Each strike travels 50,000 times the speed of an incoming intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). In the test, the system was able to destroy a drone in flight and moving targets in the Persian Gulf. With its addition, USS Ponce becomes the first ship in the world to be deployed with such an advanced weapons system.
3) Australia and US jointly launched multimillion hypersonic missile – HIFiRE
•The US and Australia have jointly test-fired a hypersonic missile capable of moving at a speed eight times faster than sound as part of a $54-million research project.
•The test was part of a project called the Hypersonic International Flight Research Experimentation Program (HIFiRE) involving the US and Australian militaries, Queensland University, Australia’s Defence Science and Technology Group. A hypersonic glider capable of moving at a speed eight times faster than sound has launched from a rocket range in the town of Woomera, South Australia.
4) Indians among top asylum-seekers, according to the International Migration Outlook 2017
•According to the International Migration Outlook 2017 report on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries, Indians are among top asylum-seekers in other countries such as New Zealand, Australia, Finland, Japan, Latvia, Slovak Republic, United Kingdom and the United States of America.
•According to the report on OECD member-nations, top asylum-seekers to New Zealand between 2012 and 2016 were from China, India, Fiji, and Iraq. Among these, India and China were the largest source countries of asylum-seekers (11% and 9%), followed by Fiji (8%), Iraq (7%) and Pakistan (6%).
5) India & Sri Lanka sign MoU to develop village in Anuradhapura District
•India and Sri Lanka have signed a MoU to develop a village in Anuradhapura District (in Sri Lanka) at a cost of 30 crores Sri Lankan rupees. The village in the name of a famous Buddhist monk Sobitha Thero, envisages construction of 153 new houses, a multi-purpose community building, internal water supply system and renovation of monk’s quarters & library.
•The project is in line with Government of Sri Lanka’s policy of rehabilitation of rural villages for economic development. It will benefit 153 families residing in the village.
6) Bharat Arun appointed Team India bowling coach
•Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has appointed Bharat Arun as the Indian Cricket team’s bowling coach. BCCI’s acting Secretary Amitabh Chaudhary announced that the cricket body has also decided to retain Sanjay Bangar as an assistant coach and R Sridhar as fielding coach till the 2019 ODI World Cup.
•The confirmation of their appointment came after newly appointed Indian coach Ravi Shastri met the four-member committee comprising of acting president CK Khanna, acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary, BCCI CEO Rahul Johri and Committee of Administrators member Diana Edulji in Mumbai.
