• The host country for World Blood Donor Day 2019 is Rwanda. Find out more about blood donation in Rwanda in this feature story.


• World Blood Donor day is celebrated every year on [latex]14^{th}[/latex] June across the world to raise awareness about the need for regular blood donations for saving lives and assuring individuals and communities to have affordable timely access for health care. Let us read objectives of World Blood Donor Day celebration, theme of 2019, its history, slogan etc.

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• Iran says it "categorically rejects" US claims that it is behind attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman.


• US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had blamed Iran for the "unprovoked attacks".


• He added that the US had made its assessment based on intelligence about the type of weapons used.


• But Iran dismissed the claim as "unfounded". A senior Iranian official had earlier told the BBC that "Iran has no connection" with the explosions.

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• The charges are related to laws on "suspected illicit wealth and emergency orders", the public prosecutor's office said, without giving more details.


• The military ousted the long-time president in April following months of protests against him.


• A military spokesman said mistakes had occurred as generals ordered an end to a sit-in demanding a return to civilian rule.


• The crackdown on [latex]3^{rd}[/latex] June left at least 61 people dead, according to officials, or 118, according to doctors aligned with the pro-democracy protesters.

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• Women across Switzerland are preparing for a nationwide strike in protest against what they say is the country's unacceptably slow pace to equality.


• Friday's protest comes 28 years after similar action saw half a million women take to the streets in 1991.


• Swiss women have long campaigned to accelerate the pace of gender equality.


• They joined millions of other women in Europe after World War One ended in 1918 in demanding the right to vote - but did not get it until 1971.

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• Tory leadership candidate Matt Hancock is understood to be considering pulling out of the race, as the remaining candidates consider how best to challenge front runner Boris Johnson.


• BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg said the health secretary could make a decision within hours, after getting 20 votes in the first ballot of Tory MPs.

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• Starting July [latex]1^{st}[/latex], both employer’s and employee’s contribution under the Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) Act, which gives insured workers medical benefits among other facilities, would be reduced, the Centre said.


• The total contribution towards ESI was reduced from 6.5% of an employee’s wages to 4%, with the employer’s share cut to 3.25%, from 4.75%, and the employee’s contribution lowered to 0.75% of wages, from 1.75%, the government announced.

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• An Army officer was rescued in a joint operation by Goa Tourism’s contracted lifeguards and the Coast Guard in South Goa.


• The Pune-based officer slipped and fell into the rough sea near the Cabo de Rama Fort.


• The incident occurred afternoon at the rocky stretch of beach near the Cabo de Rama fort where the 26-year-old Army officer had gone during his Goa holiday.

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• Chinese President Xi Jinping told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that India and China "do not pose threats" to each other as he expressed Beijing's willingness to join New Delhi in pushing forward a closer development partnership between the two sides.


• President Xi made the remarks during his meeting with Prime Minister Modi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek - their first interaction after Modi's re-election following the stunning victory of the BJP in the general elections last month.

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• Financial sector and capital market experts suggested that finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman review interest rates on the government’s small savings schemes and create a dedicated liquidity window for non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to make cheaper loans available to industry that can boost investments and accelerate growth.


• Commercial banks are unable to compete with the government’s small savings schemes such as post office deposits, National Saving Certificates (NSC), Public Provident Fund (PPF) and Sukanya Samriddhi that offer 8% interest, which is higher than rates offered by bank fixed deposits and savings account deposits (ranging between 4% and 7.35% depending on tenure and scheme), government and industry officials present in the meeting said requesting anonymity.

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• YES Bank founder Rana Kapoor, said he does not want to come back on the board, and expressed full confidence in the new Managing Director and CEO Ravneet Gill.


• The private sector lender’s shares, however, fell nearly 13 per cent.


• “The Rana Kapoor promoter group fully supported and voted in favor of all 19 resolutions at the 15th AGM on June [latex]12^{th}[/latex].

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• State Bank of India (SBI), it appears, has not given effect to some provisions in the Finance Bill 2019 related to deduction of tax at source.


• Taking note of the discrepancy on the issue of deduction of tax at source, the Coimbatore Consumer Cause (CCC) has, in a communication to the Chairman of SBI, pointed out that many people, particularly pensioners, were forced to file their tax returns to claim the refund.

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• The game has been called off! One point for each team here. Both teams might well be happy with it, India were strong favorites heading into the game but New Zealand would have backed themselves seeing the conditions.

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• India's rank has slipped five places to 141 among 163 countries on the Global Peace Index 2019, while Iceland remains the most peaceful country and Afghanistan the least peaceful nation, says a report.


• Australian think tank Institute for Economics & Peace ranks countries according to their level of peacefulness based on three thematic domains the level of societal safety and security, the extent of ongoing domestic and international conflict and the degree of militarization.

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• Seven Indian-origin Australians, including three women, have received the country’s top honours for their significant contributions in the field of medicine, music, education and finance.


• Jayashri Kulkarni, the Director of the Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research centre, received Member of the Order of Australia (OAM) for her significant service to medicine in the field of psychiatry while a Melbourne-based artist Jayshree Ramachandran was awarded the OAM for her service to performing arts through Indian music and dance at the award ceremony held night.

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• Chief Economic Adviser Krishnamurthy Subramanian and former MD and CEO of IDBI Bank B Sriram were on Tuesday appointed part-time members of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI), an official order said.


• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved their appointment, the order issued by Personnel Ministry said.

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• After Malaysian badminton legend Lee Chong Wei announced his retirement, Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal took to Twitter to wish him.


• "Really loved your performances for many years You are great badminton legend and it’s very sad to know that you are retiring," she wrote.


• "I wish you the best for future and please take care of your health," she further said.

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• Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have discovered that the yellow color visible on portions of the surface of Europa, the second Galilean satellite outward from Jupiter, is actually sodium chloride (table salt).


• The discovery, reported in the journal Science Advances, suggests that Europa’s underground ocean may chemically resemble Earth’s oceans more than previously thought.

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• Veteran journalist and former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament (MP) Rajanath Singh ‘Surya’ passed away at his Gomtinagar residence in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh after a brief illness.


• Before his death, he had expressed his desire to donate his body to the King George’s Medical University (KGMU), Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.


• He was a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader, a well known journalist and columnist in Hindi journalism and had worked in various newspapers.

A. Uttar Pradesh B. West Bengal C. Madhya Pradesh D. Rajasthan Answer: B

A. South Africa B. England C. New Zealand D. Pakistan Answer: C

A. India B. Pakistan C. Nepal D. Bangladesh Answer: D

A. West Bengal B. Tripura C. Assam D. Sikkim Answer: C

A. Britain B. United States C. Germany D. Canada Answer: B

A. Blood should be donated B. Blood for all required C. Blood donation is best donation D. Safe blood for all Answer: D

A. MACH 6 B. MACH 5 C. MACH 4 D. MACH 3 Answer: A

A. Bharat Heavy Works Limited B. Bharat Dynamics Limited C. India Power Limited D. Reliance Defence and Reserch organisation Answer: C

A. Kartikey Gupta B. Arjun Tyagi C. Himanshu Bardhan D. Devendra Sharma Answer: A

A. Nepal B. China C. Russia D. Portugal Answer: D

A. 3 crore B. 5 crore C. 10 crore D. 12 crore Answer: B

A. DSRO B. MRCO C. SWAR D. UTIP Answer: A

A. Canada B. France C. US D. Spain Answer: B

A. Sushma Swaraj B. Murli Manohar Joshi C. Virendra Kumar D. Shailesh Vajpayee Answer: C

A. SEBI B. RBI C. Ministry of Finance D. FICCI Answer: A

A. 2022 B. 2024 C. 2026 D. 2030 Answer: B

A. Maharashtra B. New Delhi C. Gujarat D. Punjab Answer: C

A. Saudi Arabia B. Pakistan C. Nepal D. Sri Lanka Answer: A

A. 9.3% B. 11.4% C. 12.7% D. 18.1% Answer: A

A. Google B. Amazon C. Microsoft D. Apple Answer: B

A. Sharad Kumar B. Anil Bhatt C. Nageswara Rao D. Hemant Karkare Answer: A

A. Nitin Kumar B. Nripendra Misra C. PK Mishra D. Rajeev Tyagi Answer: B

A. 2020 B. 2022 C. 2024 D. 2026 Answer: A

A. Kundan Kumar B. Harsh Joshi C. Menaka Chopra D. Sunil Bajwa Answer: A

A. Rs 100 B. Rs 500 C. Rs 1000 D. Rs 1200 Answer: A