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CURRENT AFFAIRS: DAYS
World Asthma Day
- The World Asthma Day takes place annually on the first Tuesday of May since 1998 by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) to improve asthma awareness and care around the world.
- The 2019 World Asthma Day was held on May 7.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Theme 2019 | STOP for Asthma |
World Red Cross Day
- World Red Cross Day is observed every year on 8 May to commemorate the birth anniversary of the founder of the Red Cross.
- The founder of Red Cross was Henry Dunant as well as the founder of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
- He was born in Geneva in 1828. He became the first recipient of 1st Nobel Peace prize.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Theme 2019 | “#love” or simply “love” |
CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
Mastercard to invest $1 billion in India over five years
- Mastercard announced a $1 billion investment in India over the next five years aimed at converting India into a vital node in the company’s infrastructure, and also to continue business expansion.
- About$350 million of the total amount would be invested in setting up a local payments processing center as per the Reserve Bank of India’s mandate to store all payments data locally.
NHB gives nod to DHFL to divest stake in Aadhar Housing Finance
- Dewan Housing Finance (DHFL), has received approval from the National Housing Bank to sell its entire stake of 9.15% in Aadhar Housing Finance to Blackstone’s arm.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL) |
| MD & CEO | Kapil Wadhawan |
| Headquarters | Mumbai |
Microsoft unveils free ‘ElectionGuard’ tool to help secure U.S. polls
- Microsoft has launched a software named “ElectionGuard” to help countries ensure secure and verifiable voting.
- The tool “ElectionGuard” will enable end-to-end verification of elections, open results to third-party organisations for secure validation, and allow individual voters to confirm their votes were correctly counted.
- However, it should be noted that “ElectionGuard” is not designed to support internet voting and is aimed at supplementing and improving the paper ballot systems.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE
Chardham Yatra begins in Uttarakhand
- The annual Char Dham Yatra began with the opening of the portals of Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines in Uttarkashi district on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya
- The shrines were closed during winter for nearly six months. Kedarnath and Badrinath shrines will open on May 9 and 10 respectively.
- The Chardham pilgrimage is one of the biggest Yatra circuits in the world.
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| Uttarakhand Capital | Dehradun |
| CM | Trivendra Singh Rawat |
| Governor | Baby Rani Maurya |
CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATION
Laurentino Cortizo wins Panama’s presidential elections
- The Panama Electoral Tribunal announced that Laurentino Cortizo has won the country’s presidential election.
- Laurentino Cortizo, the presidential candidate from the opposition Democratic Revolutionary Party, has declared his victory, with a narrow gap of 1.93 per cent against Romulo Roux, another candidate.
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| Panama Capital | Panama City |
| Currency | Panamanian balboa, United States Dollar |
| President | Juan Carlos Varela |
CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS
Tiger Woods receives Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump
- US President Donald Trump has awarded golfer Tiger Woods the country’s highest civilian honour.
- Woods was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House, as he became the fourth and youngest golfer to receive the prestigious award.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
The US Air Force successfully tested a laser system to shoot down missiles
- The US Air Force has successfully used a laser weapons system to shoot down multiple missiles while in flight.
- The system is designed to eventually be mounted on aircraft to be used to protect the vehicle from attacks.
- The Air Force Research Laboratory conducted the test at the US Army’s White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
- The system, called the Self-Protect High Energy Laser Demonstrator (SHiELD), was used from the ground, and was used to shoot down “multiple air launched missiles in flight.”
- SHiELD also not the only laser technology that’s in testing by the US military — the US Army tested a system mounted on an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter last summer, and the US Navy is working with Lockheed Martin on its own systems to install on warships.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: SUMMITS AND CONFERENCE
IBSA Sherpas Meet Concluded In Cochin
- The IBSA (India, Brazil & South Africa) Sherpas’ Meeting, following the 9th IBSA Trilateral Ministerial Meeting, was held in Cochin from May 3-5, 2019.
- Sherpas reviewed the progress made under IBSA, since their last meeting. IBSA Sherpas also reviewed the functioning of the Joint Working Groups. The Sherpas appreciated the various events organized during last one year to commemorate the fifteenth anniversary of IBSA and the other events panned in this context.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOU
India, US agree to strengthen economic co-operation
- India and the United States have agreed to strengthen economic co-operation and bilateral trade by ensuring greater collaboration amongst stakeholders, including government, businesses and entrepreneurs.
- A bilateral trade meeting was held between the two countries in New Delhi. Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu and US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross co-chaired the meeting.
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| US Capital | Washington DC |
| Currency | Dollar |
| President | Donald Trump |
Shyam Benegal to direct Indo-Bangla film on Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
- A feature film on the life and works of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to be jointly produced by India and Bangladesh will be directed by acclaimed filmmaker Shyam Benegal.
- The meeting focussed on various aspects of making the feature film on the founder of Bangladesh, co-production of which had earlier been announced by the prime ministers of both the countries.
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| Bangladesh Capital | Dhaka |
| Currency | Taka |
| Prime Minister | Sheikh Hasina |
Singapore-based cloud-services provider Deskera partners with IIT Kanpur
- Singapore-headquartered Deskera, a cloud-services provider, partnered with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur to provide small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of south-east Asia and India access to research opportunities.
- According to the partnership deal, around 100,000 SMEs associated with Deskera will be able to benefit from modern facilities offered by IIT Kanpur for industries such as manufacturing, aviation, logistics, and supply chain.
- IIT Kanpur is well-equipped with cutting-edge capabilities and will provide an additional layer of research to help enterprises in improved decision-making
CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS
Roger Federer climbs to third in men’s rankings
- Former world number one Roger Federer has returned to third in the ATP Men’s ranking, replacing Alexander Zverev
- Federer has won a record 20 Grand Slams, is making his return to clay at the Madrid Open this week after three years’ absence
- Novak Djokovic(11160 pts) remains first ahead of Rafael Nadal (7765 pts) to mark the Serb’s 250th week as world number one,
- Japan’s Naomi Osaka (6151 pts) remained atop of WTA Women’s rankings, ahead of Czech Petra Kvitova (5835 pts) and Romanian Simona Halep (5682 pts)
CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARY
West Indies cricketer Seymour Nurse passes away
- Former West Indies batsman Seymour Nurse passed away after suffering from a prolonged illness.
- Nurse has played 29 Test matches for the team between 1960 and 1969.
- After retiring, he served as a Barbados selector and a team manager.
Former billiards player Derek Sippy passes away
- Former billiards player, coach and administrator Derek Sippy died, following a massive heart attack.
- He was the Indian team’s coach at recently concluded Asian Under-21 Boys Snooker and Asian Women Snooker tournament in Chandigarh.
Eranholi Moosa, noted singer of Mappila Paattu, passes away
- Mappilappattu singer and Kerala Folklore Akademi vice chairman Eranholi Moosa passed away.
- He was 79. Moosa had sung several hit Mappilappattu songs.