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• U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will cancel the Moscow leg of his Russia trip, but will meet President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in the Black Sea resort of Sochi as planned, a State Department official said.


• Mr. Pompeo, who departed from Joint Base Andrews near Washington en route for Brussels, will hold talks with European officials on Iran and other issues before heading to Russia, the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity.


• Last week, European countries said they wanted to preserve Iran's nuclear deal and rejected “ultimatums” from Tehran, after Iran eased curbs on its nuclear programme and threatened moves that might breach the 2015 international pact.

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• The death toll from a May 6 tanker truck explosion near the international airport in Niger's capital has risen to 76, state television reported late.


• An earlier official report gave 60 dead, including 55 who died at the time of the explosion a few hundred metres (yards) from the airport in Niamey.


• Most of the victims were trying to collect spilt fuel flowing from the overturned truck when the blast occurred. About 40 people were injured.

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• Four commercial vessels have been targeted by "sabotage operations" near territorial waters of the United Arab Emirates, its foreign ministry says.


• The sabotage attempt occurred in the Gulf of Oman, the statement said, but the ministry gave no details of what form it took.


• Tensions are high in the area - a crucial oil and natural gas corridor. In recent days the US has sent additional warships there.

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• Pakistan has reached an accord with the International Monetary Fund over a three-year, $6 billion bailout package aimed at shoring up fragile public finances and strengthening the slowing economy, officials said.


• Pakistan's Finance Minister Hafeez Shaikh told PTV television he hoped the accord, which must still be approved by the IMF board in Washington, would be the last for Pakistan, which has had repeated bailouts for the past three decades.


• Prime Minister Imran Khan's government came to power last year reluctant to seek what is now expected to be its 13th IMF bailout since the late 1980s.

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• Sri Lankan authorities have arrested a Saudi-educated scholar for what they claim are links with Zahran Hashim, the suspected ringleader of the Easter bombings, throwing a spotlight on the rising influence of Salafi-Wahhabi Islam on the island's Muslims.


• Mohamed Aliyar, is the founder of the Centre for Islamic Guidance, which boasts a mosque, a religious school and a library in Zahran's hometown of Kattankudy, a Muslim-dominated city on Sri Lanka's eastern shores.


• "Information has been revealed that the suspect arrested had a close relationship with Zahran and had been operating financial transactions," said a police statement late.

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• “Krishnapatnam port is the logical logistics solution for Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka cargoes.”


• India’s outreach to the East and an escalating trade war between China and the United States is helping to turn the Bay of Bengal coastline into a new and attractive growth engine.


• In the backdrop of Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen — coastal cities which propelled China’s rise as the workshop-of-the world — India too appears to be stepping up its game of coast based manufacturing, focusing intensely on its eastern shores.

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• Vande Bharat, India’s first semi-high-speed train, is set to get a body double that doesn’t have any of its faults.


• The new train, set to arrive later this month, will be pressed into service whenever the existing one is sent for repairs, three railway officials familiar with the developments said.


• Vande Bharat Express, also known as Train 18, was launched on February 15 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid much fanfare.

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• The PIL further stated that the new software addressed all the issues faced by employees of the helpline. Besides, an alarm system was created for emergency cases.


• The Delhi high court has sought response of the Delhi government on a plea, which had challenged the privatisation and transfer of the software operations and management of 181, a women safety helpline.

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• BMC had invited suggestions and objections within seven days of issuing the notices.


• Environmental activists have decided to lodge their objections with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), over the latter’s decision to cut 311 trees for two infrastructural projects in the city.


• According to two notices issued by the civic body 207 trees will be cut for work on Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority’s (MMRDA) Metro 6 project while 104 trees will be cut for Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation’s (MSRDC) Versova Bandra Sea Link (VBSL) project.

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• RCA has been providing free coaching with hostel facility to 200 students every year.


• The application process for the same is on, interested candidates can apply at jmicoe.in till June 25, 2019.


• Applications will have to appear for an entrance exam scheduled to be conducted in June, 2019.

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• The Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) has granted the Terms of Reference (ToR) to Vedanta Ltd’s Cairn Oil & Gas, to carry out Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) for drilling a total of 274 offshore and onshore oil and gas exploration wells in the Bay of Bengal, Nagapattinam, Karaikal, Villupuram and Puducherry.


• The sanction letter with the ToR to proceed with the EIA was issued to the company, kickstarting the first step in the process.

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• The total voter turnout for Phase 6 of the Lok Sabha elections is 63.3%, reported news agency PTI.


• Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar and Haryana all voted in the sixth phase of the elections.


• Polling was held in 14 seats in Uttar Pradesh, 10 in Haryana, eight seats each in West Bengal, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, seven in Delhi and four in Jharkhand.

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• HDFC Asset Management Company (HDFC AMC) Ltd said it is in receipt of two show cause notices from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in relation to the investments of its Fixed Maturity Plans in debt instruments of Essel Group of companies.


• HDFC AMC, which is the investment manager of HDFC Mutual Fund, in a stock exchange notice, said, "We are working with our legal advisors and are in the process of responding to the said show cause notices."

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• Mastercard has started to delete transactions data of Indian consumers from United States (US)-based servers, and saving the same in India, from this month and expects to complete the de-duplication exercise by this year-end, a top official said.


• Mastercard, however, has already started saving data at servers in India from October last year which is duplicate data of that saved in the US.

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• Interest rates, competitive investments have a lesser impact on mobilisation of deposits, says Reserve Bank of India study.


• The backdrop of tightening financial conditions on account of low deposit growth, a Reserve Bank of India study said accelerating the rate of economic growth and disposable income holds the key to higher deposit mobilisation by the banking system.

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• Mumbai Indians pipped Chennai Super Kings to a record fourth Indian Premier League (IPL) title when Rohit Sharma’s men triumphed by the narrowest of margins — by one run — to beat Chennai Super Kings in a nail-biting final at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.


• With 31 last-over finishes in this season, it was only fitting that the final result was decided in the last ball.


• With CSK needing two runs off the last ball, Shardul Thakur was caught plumb in front of the wicket by Lasith Malinga as the Mumbai bench erupted in joy.

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• The magazine “CRICZONE” was launched on the sidelines of the inaugural women’s T20 challenge event which was attended by international cricketers like Mithali Raj, Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur and overseas player like Danielle Wyatt and Sophie Davine.


• The objective of this magazine is to empower young aspiring women cricketers to take the sport as a profession and able to make sustainable living.

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• IPS officer Chhaya Sharma, who headed the investigation team of the infamous Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case, has been conferred with the 2019 McCain Institute Award for Courage and Leadership.


• She has guided teams in the detection and investigation of sensitive criminal cases and protection of human rights.


• In 2017, Chhaya has performed a crucial role in drafting Standard Operating Procedures and Guidelines to Combat Trafficking of Persons in India.

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• The municipal commissioner of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) also known as Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai has been appointed as the new Chief Secretary (CS) of Maharashtra.


• Mehta’s predecessor UPS Madan (1983 batch IAS officer), who has opted for voluntary retirement (under V.R.S.- voluntary retirement scheme) after serving the post of CS for just 44 days makes him the shortest-serving CS of Maharashtra.

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• In the making of 13 Minutes To The Moon, we spent, all-told, the best part of four weeks traipsing around the United States looking for the people who, one day in 1969, had somehow got a man safely to the surface of another world.


• In Texas, we found Charlie Duke, lunar module pilot on Apollo 16, and Walt Cunningham, who served as command module pilot during Apollo 7, the inaugural test flight.

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• Bhojpuri singer, Padma Shri awardee Hiralal Yadav passed away in a private hospital in Varanasi after a prolonged illness. He was a renowned Bhojpuri folk singer from ‘Birha’ genre.


• He sung the songs based on nature. He has done numerous albums with T-series which include Devar Bhabhi Ki Holi, Ram Bhakt Ghurhu Kisan, Chabda Chatti Peeta, Gadhavat Swami Sadguru Bhajan and others.

A. 63 B. 72 C. 45 D. 59 Answer: D

A. Kolkata Knight Riders B. Kings XI Punjab C. Mumbai Indians D. Chennai Superkings Answer: C

A. KL Rahul B. Shubhman Gill C. Andre Russell D. Imran Tahir Answer: D

A. Bengaluru B. New Delhi C. Beijing D. Kuala Lumpur Answer: B

A. Bangladesh B. Afghanistan C. Pakistan D. Syria Answer: C

A. Jammu and Kashmir B. West Bengal C. Jharkhand D. Chhattisgarh Answer: A

A. Pakistan B. Afghanistan C. Sri Lanka D. Bangladesh Answer: C

A. Hiralal Yadav B. Ajay Kumar C. Shakuntala Sinha D. Arpan Das Mitra Answer: A

A. Thrissur Pooram B. Vishu C. Onam D. Aranmula Boat Race Answer: A

A. Nation First B. Year of Next of Kin C. Martyrs of India D. No one can stop us Answer: B

A. India, Japan, Philippines, and USA B. Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia C. Brunei, Philippines, and Taiwan D. Uniited States, Vietnam, and Philippines Answer: A

A. UK B. Russia C. Germany D. Japan Answer: A

A. Maharashtra B. Karnataka C. Andhra Pradesh D. Odisha Answer: B

A. UNEP B. UNESCO C. UNICEF D. IUCN Answer: A

A. ALFA-X B. Renfe AVE C. Korail KTX D. Maglev Answer: A

A. Sanjay Dutt B. Naseeruddin Shah C. R. Madhavan D. Pankaj Kapur Answer: D

A. Protect Birds: Be the Solution to Plastic Pollution! B. Unifying our Voices for Bird Conservation C. Their Future is our Future - A Healthy Planet for Migratory Birds and People D. Year of the Bird Answer: A

A. Rajam Krishnan B. Thoppil Mohamed Meeran C. Balakumaran D. Tamilvanan Answer: B

A. Athens B. London C. Paris D. Lisbon Answer: D

A. Haryana B. Andra Pradesh C. Maharashtra D. Odisha Answer: C

A. Zvonimir Boban B. Robert Jarni C. Zoran Vulic D. Igor Stimac Answer: D

A. HarperCollins B. John Brown C. Yash Lahoti D. Ellis Watson Answer: C

A. 12.24% B. 12.54% C. 13.24% D. 13.54% Answer: C

A. NDDB_ABRO_Murrah B. NDDB_AGRO_Murrah C. NDDB_AVNI_Murrah D. NDDB_ACRO_Murrah Answer: A

A. Bhishma Narain Singh B. Chandrasekhar Rath C. Yogesh Chander Deveshwar D. Kedarnath Singh Answer: C

A. Odisha B. Rajasthan C. Andra Pradesh D. Tamil Nadu Answer: B

A. Libya B. Burundi C. Somalia D. Eritrea Answer: D

A. Germany B. India C. Brazil D. China Answer: B

A. Liverpool B. Arsenal C. Manchester United D. Chelsea Answer: A

A. Italian B. British C. Spanish D. German Answer: B

A. Harsh Kumar Bhanwala B. Rajnish Kunar C. R Mangalam D. Ajay Tyagi Answer: A

A. Ankara B. Eritrean C. Asmara D. Nakfa Answer: C

A. Geneva B. Zurich C. Bern D. Lausanne Answer: A