GS-II

Germany said on Monday that it had banned Iranian airline Mahan Air from its airports, in an escalation of sanctions adopted by the European Union (EU) against Tehran over attacks on opponents in the bloc. The move was necessary to protect Germany’s “foreign and security policy interests”, Foreign Ministry spokesman …

France’s data watchdog on Monday announced a fine of €50 million ($57 million) on U.S. search giant Google, using the EU’s strict General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for the first time. Google was handed the record fine from the CNIL regulator for failing to provide transparent and easily accessible information …

U.S. Senator Kamala Harris announced on Monday that she is running for President, joining an already-crowded field of Democrats who are making or considering bids to take on Donald Trump. “The future of our country depends on you and millions of others lifting our voices to fight for our American …

The Border Security Force (BSF) has said they were taking care of the daily necessities of 31 Rohingya who have been stranded along the Bangladesh-Tripura border for the past three days. The Rohingya are holed up behind the barbed wire fencing at Rayermura in west Tripura. It is not clear …

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said the 10% reservation for the economically weaker sections will be implemented in the State even as he called for enhanced quota for the Other Backward Classes. He demanded that the census in 2021 should be caste-based to enable proportional representation of various …

Chief Justice Gogoi, however, had heard a petition filed by Mr. Verma against the latter’s ‘overnight’ divestment from office on October 23-24 last year even though the CJI was a member of the high-power committee. Chief Justice Gogoi had authored the judgment for the Bench allowing Mr. Verma to return …

RTI activists filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court on Monday alleging that the appointment of former Law Secretary Suresh Chandra as a member of the Central Information Commission was done “in complete violation of the prescribed process”, as he had not applied for the post. As The Hindu reported …

In the backdrop of the controversy over the appointment of Justice Sanjiv Khanna, a 1998 opinion by the Supreme Court may shed light on the questions raised by the episode. The objections against are not merely over seniority, but extends to questions about the Collegium dropping the names of two …

The Election Commission on Monday said it was examining the option of taking legal action on the claims made at a press conference in London that the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) used by the electoral body could be hacked and that the 2014 Lok Sabha polls were rigged. Syed Shuja, …

A CBI officer, who was part of a probe team investigating an FIR against former Special Director Rakesh Asthana, on Monday challenged his transfer to Andaman and Nicobar Islands immediately after M. Nageshwar Rao took over charge as CBI Director. A.K. Bassi had been earlier transferred to Port Blair in …