8 MAY 2014

Ø  The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) this week announced the formal publication of new rules to allow H-4 visa holders, the spouses of those holding H-1B visas, to work under certain conditions. More than a year has lapsed since the U.S. federal agency first proposed to amend the immigration law. The announcement implies that the rules would enter into force soon, possibly after a 60-day public comment period.

Ø  Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Robin Kumar Dhowan announced that the newly inducted aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya, is now operationally deployed and its integral MiG-29K fighters have been fully integrated with the carrier.

Ø  The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully flight-tested an underwater-launched missile called K-4 with a range of about 3,000 km. The K-15 missile has a 700-km range. It is 10 metres long and weighs six tonnes. The K-15 is now under production and ready for integration into India’s nuclear-powered submarine, Arihant .  The sources described K-4 as “the proud successor” of the K-15 underwater-launched missile, codenamed B-05. Nearly 10 development trials of K-15 missile have already been completed from pontoons submerged in the Bay of Bengal over the past few years.

Ø  The Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday filed an affidavit in a special Ahmedabad court, giving a clean chit to former Gujarat Home Minister Amit Shah in the alleged fake encounter of Ishrat Jahan and three others in 2004.

Ø  Rules do not permit a convicted and disqualified Member of Parliament to retain government accommodation, but the Centre has allowed Rashtriya Janata Dal chief and former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad to keep his residence here. The Union Urban Development Ministry granted his request to retain the accommodation till October 2014, a Right to Information query has revealed.

Ø  Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who currently holds the title of world’s richest man with a fortune of 79.5 billion dollars, could become world’s first trillionaire, according to financial forecasters.

Ø  Scientists have come up with the best computer model yet of the universe. This new virtual cosmos created by U.S., German and English researchers includes details never before achieved in a simulation. Called Illustris, the numerical-based model covers the 13 billion-year evolution of the universe beginning just 12 million years after the Big Bang, or creation. The model accurately depicts the distribution and composition of various types of galaxies. Illustris was developed by a team led by astrophysicist Mark Vogelsberger of Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

Ø  Jignesh Shah, former director of the scam-ridden National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL), was arrested by the Mumbai police on Wednesday in connection with the nearly Rs.5,600-crore payment crisis. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police also arrested the Chief Financial Officer of Financial Technologies India Ltd. (FTIL), Srikant Javlekar. FTIL owns NSEL.

Ø  AirAsia India has finally got the licence from aviation regulator Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to start commercial operations in the country after months of delay and litigation.