Supreme Court Allows Euthanasia of Dangerous/Rabid Stray Dogs (19 May 2026)

• The Supreme Court of India on 19 May 2026 permitted euthanasia of rabid, incurably ill, or demonstrably dangerous stray dogs.

• The bench comprised Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta, and Justice N.V. Anjaria.

• The Court linked the decision to public safety and management of stray dogs under Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023.

• Euthanasia must be done strictly as per ABC Rules 2023 and other statutory procedures.

• The Court mandated medical assessment by qualified veterinary experts before euthanasia.

• The Court dismissed pleas seeking modification of its 7 November 2025 order on stray dog removal from public places.

• Earlier directions included removal of stray dogs from schools, hospitals, bus stands, and no return even after sterilisation/vaccination.

• States/UTs were directed to set up at least one fully functional ABC centre in every district and ensure anti-rabies medicine availability.

India Invited to 52nd G7 Summit 2026 (France Presidency)

• French President Emmanuel Macron invited PM Narendra Modi to attend the 52nd G7 Summit as a special guest.

• The summit will be held from 15–17 June 2026 at Évian-les-Bains, Haute-Savoie, France.

• France will preside over the G7 in 2026, as the presidency rotates annually among members.

• The G7 consists of 7 advanced economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, and USA.

• The European Union participates in G7 meetings as a non-enumerated member.

• India is not a permanent member of the G7 but is often invited as a guest country.

• Macron extended the invitation during his India visit (17–19 February 2026), including participation in the AI Impact Summit.

• An ad hoc India–France meeting is proposed before the summit to discuss global agenda and international imbalances.

Tushar Kumar Becomes Mayor of Elstree and Borehamwood (UK) – 13 May 2026

• Tushar Kumar (23 years), a Labour Party councillor, was elected and sworn in as Mayor of Elstree and Borehamwood on 13 May 2026.

• He became the youngest Indian-origin mayor in the history of the United Kingdom.

• The Mayor Making Ceremony was held at Fairway Hall, Borehamwood.

• In the UK, a mayor is mainly a ceremonial civic head, chairs council meetings, and represents the local authority.

• Elstree and Borehamwood Town Council is located in Hertsmere district, Hertfordshire (England).

• Kumar joined the town council in 2023 and earlier served as Deputy Mayor.

• He studied Political Science at King’s College London.

• His mother Councillor Parveen Rani earlier served as Deputy Mayor of Hertsmere and he selected WD6 Food Support as his mayoral charity focus.

Rajnath Singh’s Vietnam Visit and Defence Cooperation (18–19 May 2026)

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited Vietnam from 18 to 19 May 2026.

• He met Vietnamese President Tô Lâm in Hanoi on 19 May 2026.

• He also held a bilateral meeting with Vietnam Defence Minister General Phan Van Giang.

• Discussions focused on strengthening defence ties under the Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

• Key cooperation areas included maritime security, training, defence industry collaboration, and Indo-Pacific strategic coordination.

• Both sides jointly inaugurated a Language Lab at the Air Force Officers College in Vietnam on 19 May 2026.

• A MoU on Artificial Intelligence and quantum technology was exchanged during the visit.

• BrahMos missile systems were discussed as a possible defence export for Vietnam’s coastal defence needs, along with wider South China Sea security cooperation.

India’s Venus Orbiter Mission (Shukrayaan) with Sweden Collaboration

• Shukrayaan is India’s planned Venus orbiter mission to study Venus’s atmosphere, exosphere, surface and cloud systems.

• The mission involves international collaboration with Sweden.

• Sweden’s Swedish Institute of Space Physics will develop the Venusian Neutrals Analyser (VNA) payload.

• VNA will study solar charged particles interaction with Venus’s atmosphere and exosphere.

• The mission will carry 19 scientific payloads in total.

• It was approved by the Union Cabinet in 2024 with an outlay of ₹1,236 crore.

• The spacecraft will be launched using LVM-3 and will enter a Venus orbit of 500 km periapsis and 60,000 km apoapsis.

• The mission aims to understand Venus’s super-rotating clouds, climate evolution, and whether it earlier had liquid water conditions; arrival is expected by July 2028, and PDR was completed in April 2026.

Index Platform by Parallel Web Systems (Parag Agrawal)

• Parallel Web Systems, founded by former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, launched Index on 19 May 2026.

• Index is a platform designed to compensate creators and publishers when AI systems use their content.

• It applies the Shapley value (game theory method) to calculate each creator’s contribution to AI-generated output.

• Website owners can register their domains on Index to monitor AI content usage.

• The platform provides tracking tools and usage insights about how Parallel’s AI agents access and use published material.

• Index has partnered with major publishers/data firms like The Atlantic, Fortune, PR Newswire, PitchBook, and ZoomInfo.

• Independent creators can also join by registering interest for compensation and monitoring support.

• Parallel Web Systems raised $100 million Series B funding in April 2026 (led by Sequoia Capital) and was valued at around $2 billion.