Lithuania to become 19th country to adopt Euro as currency from 1 January 2015

1.    Lithuania to become 19th country to adopt Euro as currency from 1 January 2015

i. Lithuania is set to adopt the euro on 1 January 2015, after the European Commission said it had met the criteria for joining the single currency.

ii. It will become the 19th member of the euro zone out of 28 countries in the European Union, and the last of the Baltic states to join.

iii. The Commission, in its report, said a formal decision would be made by EU governments next month.

iv. The UK and Denmark are the only EU states with opt-outs from the euro.

v. All other countries are expected to join. Estonia was the first Baltic state to become a member of the eurozone in 2011, followed by Latvia on 1 January 2014.

Lithuania Capital:  Vilnius

President: Dalia Grybauskaitė

Prime Minister: Algirdas Butkevičius

Criteria to join Euro: In order to qualify to join the euro, a country must fulfill the following conditions:

i. Government debt no higher than 60pc of gross domestic product (GDP),

ii. Budget deficit below 3pc of GDP,

iii. Low inflation and interest rates and

iv. Country’s own currency has to be stable against the euro

About the Euro

The euro is the single currency shared by 18 of the European Union's Member States, which together make up the euro area. The introduction of the euro in 1999 was a major step in European integration: more than 333 million EU citizens now use it as their currency.

2.    40th G-7 summit 2014 held at Brussels

i. 40th G-7 summit 2014 was held at Justus Lipsius building, Brussels at the Council of the European Union .

ii. It was the first time that the EU hosted a G7 summit. The summit is jointly represented by the European Council President Herman van Rompuy and the European Commission President.
iii. The leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission (G7 leaders) met for the summit.

Note: Originally, a G8 summit was scheduled to take place in Sochi (Russia) in early June 2014 under a Russian presidency. Due to the Russian Federation's violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, the G7 leaders decided to meet in Brussels on 4-5 June 2014 in the G7 format instead.

3.    Chandrababu Naidu sworn-in as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister

i. Telugu Desam Party (TDP) President Chandrababu Naidu was sworn in as the first Chief Minister of new Andhra Pradesh at a grand function this evening.

ii. Governor ESL Narasimhan administered the oath of office and secrecy to Naidu at a public function held at Nagarjuna Nagar between Vijayawada and Guntur at 7.27 pm.

iii. A host of dignitaries, including 15 Union ministers, veteran BJP leaders like LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi and film stars, besides Chief Ministers of Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Odisha, Punjab and Goa are expected to attend.

iv. Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and YSR Congress president YS Jaganmohan Reddy did not attend the swearing-in though Naidu had extended personal invitations to them. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Naidu and assured him "all possible help" and hoped that his administrative experience would be great asset to the state.

v. Naidu has earlier served as the longest chief minister of Andhra Pradesh from 1995 to 2004

4.    Kathleen Stephens took charge as US interim Ambassador

i. Kathleen Stephens took charge as US interim Ambassador to India. 
ii. She took charge just ahead of India's first official engagement with Washington in the form of a visit by assistant secretary for south and central Asia Nisha Biswal. 
iii. Stephens is replacing the former US Ambassador Nancy Powell. Nancy Powell had left India on 22 May 2014 after announcing the end of her tenure in March 2014.

iv. She will head the US mission until a new permanent ambassador is nominated and confirmed by the US Senate.

5.    Tennis: Nadal wins French Open title for 9th time; Retains no. 1 spot

i. Rafael Nadal of Spain won the French Open title for the ninth time, and the fifth time in a row, beating Novak Djokovic of Serbia 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 last evening in the Men's Singles final.
ii. Nadal, who will retain his place at the top of the rankings with the victory, has now won 14 Grand Slam titles, tied in the second place with Pete Sampras. Only Roger Federer, with 17 majors, has more.

6.    Sharapova  Defeat Simona Halep to win French Open Title

i. Maria Sharapova won her second French Open title in three years at Roland Garros on Saturday, defeating Romania's Simona Halep 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-4 in a gripping final, the first to go the full distance in Paris in 13 years and the second longest on record.

ii. It was the 27-year-old Russian's fifth Grand Slam title, bringing her level with Martina Hingis on the all-time list and it came 10 years after she won her first major at Wimbledon 2004. 
iii. Sharapova, who completed a career sweep of all four Grand Slam titles in Paris in 2012 before losing to Serena Williams last year, also moved to number two on the all-time prize money earnings, with only the American ahead of her.