British mobile giant Vodafone is to axe 11,000 jobs over three years in the latest cull to hit the tech sector, as new boss Margherita Della Valle slammed recent performance.

At 11,000 positions, Vodafone is seen axing more than 10 percent of its global workforce, which stood at 104,000 staff last year.

Vodafone's announcement follows the axing this year of tens of thousands of jobs across the global tech sector, including by Facebook parent Meta, as soaring inflation weakened the economy.

Della Valle's predecessor Nick Read stepped down in early December after a four-year tenure marked by a steep fall in the company's share price.

He left with Vodafone in talks over merging its UK operations with rival Three UK, owned by Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison.

Media reports say a deal worth £15 billion ($18.7 billion) is close to completion.

The government has appointed seasoned bureaucrat and gas sector expert Anil Kumar Jain as the new chairman of the oil and gas sector regulatory body, PNGRB.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved the appointment of Jain, who retired as coal secretary in October last year, as the new chairman of the Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB).

The ACC has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, based on the recommendations of the Search Committee, for the appointment of Anil Kumar Jain.

Jain has been appointed as the Chairperson PNGRB "for a period of five years from the date assumption of charge of the post or till attaining the age of 65 years, or until further orders, whichever is the earliest, on a consolidated pay package of Rs 4.50 lakhs per month (without house and car) or as revised by the Ministry of Finance from time to time," the ACC order of May 15 said.

Bihar-born, 1986-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from the Madhya Pradesh cadre will fill a position that has been lying vacant since Dinesh Kumar Sarraf retired on December 4, 2020.

Jain was selected after three failed attempts.

On June 2, 2021, former power secretary Sanjeev Sahai headed a list of three shortlisted candidates but the list was turned down, as the oil ministry had not firmly recommended a single candidate.

In November 2021, the government re-advertised the post and held interviews on February 2, 2022.

Tarun Kapur, who retired as oil secretary on November 30, 2021, was recommended for the job but his name too was blocked. In May last year, Kapoor was appointed advisor to the Prime Minister to handle energy and infrastructure issues, for two years.

In August 2022, the search committee selected the then BPCL chairman Arun Kumar Singh to head the PNGRB but his name wasn't processed and he was appointed chairman of ONGC on December 7, 2022.

The mausoleum built for the golden casket of Pele was opened for visitors on May 15 .

On the second floor of a vertical cemetery in Santos, outside Sao Paulo, the mausoleum welcomes fans with two golden statues of Pele; the floor is artificial grass; the walls are images of fans in a stadium; and there's an endless soundtrack of cheers, as if Pele was still playing. The ceiling above the casket of the three-time World Cup champion is blue.

Pele was laid to rest here on January 3, five days after he died at age 82 of colon cancer.

The mausoleum was planned by the owner of the cemetery, Pepe Alstut, who died in 2018.

Pele led Brazil to World Cup titles in 1958, 1962 and 1970. He is the only player to win it three times. 

Q1. Name  the freelance journalist against whom  Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on May 15  has  registered a case under Official Secrets Act  ?

1. Vivek Raghuvanshi
2. Irfan Mehraj
3. Sanjay Rana
4. Jaspal Singh
5. None of These

Q2. Name the portal  which has been launched by the Department of Telecom on May 16 via which people will be now able to block and track their lost or stolen mobile phones across India

1. Sanchar Mitra
2. Sanchar Saathi
3. Sanchar Dost
4. Sanchar Saheli
5. None of These

Q3. Name the prominent foe of female circumcision  who has won the  prestigious $1.4 million Templeton Prize 2023 ?

1. Mohja Kahf
2. Sultana Kamal
3. Edna Adan Ismail
4. Na'eem Jeenah
5. None of These

Q4. Name the country whose  parliament  has passed an amendment on May 16  allowing gay couples to jointly adopt children, a move hailed by activists as "another big step forward" for. marriage equality ?

1. France
2. UK
3. US
4. Taiwan
5. None of These

Q5. Name the seasoned bureaucrat and gas sector expert who has been appointed as the new chairman of the Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) ?

1. Anil Kumar Jain
2. Sanjeev Sahai
3. Arun Kumar Singh
4. Tarun Kapur
5. None of These

Answers

1--------------------------1   Vivek Raghuvanshi

2--------------------------2   Sanchar Saathi

3---------------------------3   Edna Adan Ismail

4---------------------------4   Taiwan

5---------------------------1   Anil Kumar Jain

Bihar BJP chief Samrat Chaudhary slammed Janata Dal (United) MP Lalan Singh for throwing a 'mutton-rice' party in his constituency with a view to woo voters for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Chaudhary claimed that such a low level of politics can take place only in JD(U) in Bihar.

Lalan Singh, who is also JD(U) national President, had reportedly organised a mutton-rice party in his home constituency Munger where a large number of people turned out and it became uncontrollable. The local police had to baton charge to control the situation.

The Centre has warned doctors at central government-run hospitals and CGHS wellness centres to comply with the norms of prescribing generic medicines failing which action will be taken against them.

According to an office order, the doctors at central government hospitals, Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) wellness centres and polyclinics have been instructed time and again to only prescribe generic medicines.

A 25-year-old man who took 17 bullets during ethnic clashes in Manipur is currently undergoing treatment at a government hospital in neighbouring Mizoram.

The victim, identified as Pauginmuan, was brought to Aizawl Civil Hospital from Churachandpur district in the neighbouring state for better medical facilities on May 14.

He took at least 17 bullets fired from a locally made gun when a violent clash occurred at a village on May 3.

Pauginmuan was taken to Aizawl as doctors in Churachandpur said they did not have the required equipment to extract the bullets embedded close to the spinal cord and vascular veins.

Pauginmuan, who belonged to the Chin-Kuki-Mizo tribe, claimed that he and his friends were protecting their village when some armed miscreants attacked them after the Tribal Solidarity March' ended on May 3.

While two of his friends were killed in the attack, he got injured, Pauginmuan claimed.

Clashes broke out in Manipur after the 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts on May 3 to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

At least 73 people were killed, 231 injured and 1,700 houses, including religious places, were burnt in the ethnic violence.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley.

Tribals -- Nagas and Kukis -- constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill districts.

Syria on May 15  called on Arab countries to invest in the war-torn nation, now again a member of the Arab League. The appeal from Syria’s economy and trade minister came during an economic conference in Saudi Arabia, ahead of a league summit in the kingdom.

The 22-member Arab League agreed earlier this month to reinstate Syria, ending a 12-year suspension and taking another step toward bringing Syrian President Bashar Assad, a long-time regional undesirable, back into the fold.

However, crippling Western sanctions against Assad’s government remain in place and could prevent oil-rich Arab countries from rushing to invest in Syria — or lead to a quick release of reconstruction funds in the war-battered country.

Syria was suspended from the league over Assad’s brutal cracking down on mass protests against his rule in 2011. The uprising quickly turned into a civil war that has killed nearly a half million people and displaced half of the country’s pre-war population of 23 million.

Saudi Arabia had been a key backer of armed opposition groups attempting to overthrow Assad, but in recent months Riyadh had called for dialogue. Last month, Syria’s Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad visited Riyadh and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, visited Damascus and met with Assad. Last week, the two countries agreed on reopening their embassies.

Still, Kuwait, Morocco, and Qatar, remain opposed to normalizing relations with Syria and Qatar continues to be a key backer of Syrian rebel groups fighting Assad.