Daily News Mail - News of 10/05/2015

Liberia declared Ebola-free

• The WHO on May 9 declared Liberia Ebola-free, hailing the “monumental” achievement in the country where the virus has killed over 4,700 people.

Ebola outbreak in Nations in 2014

India test-fires BrahMos advanced version

• India on May 9 successfully test-fired an advanced version of the BrahMos land-attack cruise missile from the Car Nicobar Islands, the second such exercise since May 8.
• “The land-to-land configuration of BrahMos Block-III version was test launched from a Mobile Autonomous Launcher (MAL) for its full-range of 290 km at 1-30 p.m,” defence sources said.
• Today’s test, the 48th test firing of the missile, met all flight parameters, including high-level manoeuvres.
• The supersonic cruise missile hit the designated land- based target with the desired accuracy. A similar test on May 8 too concluded successfully.
• The BrahMos missile has been jointly developed by India and Russia.
• The multi—mission missile, having a range of 290—km and a Mach 2.8 speed, is capable of being launched from land, sea, sub—sea and air against sea and land targets.
• The air version of the BrahMos is being readied for flight trials soon on Indian Air Force’s Su-30 MKI strike fighter.

Presence of Pranab, Xi appreciated

• Apart from President Xi Jinping and President Pranab Mukherjee, prominent leaders attending Russia’s Victory Day celebrations included Kazakhstan President Nazarbayev and Egyptian President Abdel Fateh Al- Sisi.
• The commemoration event has also seen the emergence of the RIC (Russia-India-China) bloc at a time the West has not only shunned President Putin’s grand parade, but imposed major financial sanctions on Russia. These have led to a significant weakening of the Russian Rouble, and restrictions on banks and oil companies have crippled Russia’s key export industries. At this time, the presence of Chinese and Indian Presidents has been appreciated in Russia as a strong signal of solidarity.
• President Mukherjee’s meeting came a day after Mr. Xi met Mr. Putin and finalised infrastructure deals worth an approximate $6 billion. Russia and China signed 32 agreements and MoUs including high-speed rail projects and the construction of a pipeline for Russian gas major Gazprom. The visit also comes four days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s big visit to China, where the two sides are expected to announce several trade and infrastructure measures.
• However Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar said India’s presence in Moscow should not be read in a trilateral context.
• “We are here because this is a very important day for Russians. Anybody objective would recognise the Russian contribution to the end of the war, and we want to say we are here on a day that means a lot to them.”

2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade

• The 2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade was a parade that took place in Red Square in Moscow on 9 May 2015 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the capitulation(Surrender) of Nazi Germany in 1945. 
• The annual parade marks the Allied victory in the Second World War at the Eastern Front, on the same day as the signing of the German act of capitulation(Surrender) to the Allies in Berlin, at midnight of 9 May 1945 (Russian time).