HP to buy Wi-Fi gear maker Aruba Networks for $2.7 billion

Hewlett-Packard (HP) said it would buy Wi-Fi network gear maker Aruba Networks for about $2.7 billion, the biggest deal for the world’s No. 2 PC maker since its botched acquisition of Britain’s Autonomy Plc in 2011. The purchase of Aruba would help HP boost its share in the wireless local area network (WLAN) market as more companies allow employees to access work systems through their wireless devices.

Ola Cabs buys TaxiForSure in $200-mn deal

Ola Cabs has acquired its smaller rival in the taxi aggregator space, TaxiForSure, in a $200-million (Rs 1,200 crore) cash and equity arrangement. TaxiForSure currently operates in 47 cities with over 15,000 vehicles registered on its platform while Ola has over 1-lakh vehicles on its platform. Under the deal, all of the 1,700 employees shall continue to work with TaxiForSure, with Arvind Singhal (currently COO) being appointed the CEO. TaxiForSure founders A. Radhakrishna and G. Raghunandan will contribute in an advisory role for a certain period.

World’s first electric satellites successfully lifted off by SpaceX rocket

World’s first electric satellites were successfully lifted off by a Space Exploration (SpaceX) Technologies rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida (US). On board were satellites for two different customers, Eutelsat and Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS). The two companies jointly financed both the satellite construction and launch. They’re unique in that rather than conventional rocket thrusters, they’re powered by electric propulsion. That reduced the weight of the satellites to the point where both could be launched at once.

Mo Ibrahim prize: Namibia President Pohamba gets $5m award

The outgoing Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba has won the world’s most valuable individual award, the Mo Ibrahim prize for African leadership. The $5m (£3.2m) award is given each year to an elected leader who governed well, raised living standards and then left office. Mr Pohamba, a former rebel who fought for his country’s independence, has served two terms as Namibian president. He was first elected in 2004, and again in 2009. He is due to be succeeded by President-elect, Hage Geingob.

Arun Singh Named New Indian Ambassador to United States

Arun Singh has been named as new Indian Ambassador to US. Prior to this announcement he was serving as India’s Ambassador of France.  He will take place of S. Jaishankar, who was appointed as India’s New Foreign Secretary during January 2015. Arun Singh is a senior officer of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and belongs to its 1979-batch.

Jagmohan Dalmiya Returns as BCCI President, Anurag Thakur is New Secretary

Veteran Bengal cricket administrator Jagmohan Dalmiya has returned as the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India after a decade, replacing the sport’s world supremo Narayanaswami Srinivasan following a corruption scandal. Anurag Thakur edged out Sanjay Patel to become board secretary. In other positions, TC Matthews was elected one of the five vice-presidents, while Amitabh Chaudhary (Jharkhand) and Anirudh Chaudhary (Haryana) were elected joint-secretary and Treasurer respectively.