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• President Donald Trump has declared a national emergency to protect US computer networks from "foreign adversaries".


• He signed an executive order which effectively bars US companies from using foreign telecoms believed to pose national security risks.


• The order does not name any company, but is believed to target Huawei.


• The Chinese tech giant said restricting its business in the US would only hurt American consumers and companies.

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• Talks on moving Sudan towards civilian rule have been suspended for three days by the country's military leaders, who demand protesters clear roadblocks.


• In a televised statement, the Transitional Military Council (TMC) said barricades outside a designated zone in Khartoum should be removed.


• The setback comes hours after the TMC and the opposition agreed a three-year transition period to civilian rule.

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• Officials in Mexico City have declared an environmental emergency after air pollution in the Mexican capital reached levels potentially dangerous to human health.


• They urged those at particular risk to stay indoors and restricted the number of cars which can be driven in the city.


• Smoke from nearby forest fires has contributed to the spike in pollution.

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• China’s President Xi Jinping debunked the “clash of civilisations” theory, and appealed for harmonious dialogue and coexistence between civilisations.


• Without naming the U.S., President Xi, in his address at the maiden conference on Asian Civilizations Dialogue, advocated equality, and rejected superiority of the U.S.-led West.

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• Nepal has embraced the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China’s ambitious infrastructure and connectivity project, with great enthusiasm.


• Other than Pakistan, Nepal was the only country in India’s neighbourhood to send a high-level delegation to the Belt and Road Forum (BRF) organised in Beijing recently.


• The burgeoning Sino-Nepal relationship has raised many eyebrows in India.


• Two recent events have added to India’s discomfort. First, Nepal signed a protocol arrangement for trade and transit treaty with China.


• The agreement would allow Nepal to use at least seven Chinese ports for third country trade. Until now, Nepal could use only Indian ports.


• Second, BRI officially has a programme for Nepal now, similar to China-pakistan Economic Corridor (CEPC).

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• US President Donald Trump will outline a plan to harden border security and overhaul the legal immigration system to favour applicants who speak English, are well-educated and have job offers, senior administration officials said.


• Trump’s immigration proposal, the product largely of senior advisers Jared Kushner and Stephen Miller and economic aide Kevin Hassett, is an effort to rally Republicans on an issue that has often divided them.

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• India has decided to sign an international call initiated by the governments of France and New Zealand along with top social media companies after the Christchurch attacks.


• To combat online extremism, India has decided to sign an international call initiated by the governments of France and New Zealand along with top social media companies after the Christchurch attacks.

Source: Click Here

• Pakistan decided not to lift its airspace ban for Indian flights till May [latex]30^{th}[/latex], as Islamabad is awaiting the outcome of the Lok Sabha polls in India.


• Pakistan fully closed its airspace after an Indian Air Force strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camp in Balakot on February [latex]26^{th}[/latex] However, Pakistan opened its airspace for all flights except for New Delhi, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur on March [latex] 27^{th}[/latex].

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• Government officials familiar with the matter said that the move comes against the backdrop ta suicides by at least four debt-ridden farmers over the past three weeks; all four had borrowed from moneylenders.


• The Madhya Pradesh government is considering amending the 84-year-old Money Lenders Act to define the payment schedule and caps on interest rates in an attempt to help farmers who have borrowed from moneylenders.


• Government officials familiar with the matter said that the move comes against the backdrop ta suicides by at least four debt-ridden farmers over the past three weeks; all four had borrowed from moneylenders.

Source: Click Here

• Jet Airways’ decision to suspend operations in the face of a cash crunch in April is affecting the travel plans back home of Indians based in Qatar.


• With summer holidays around the corner, Qatar Aiways has requested Indian authorities to increase the number of seats between Doha and India to compensate for the fall in seating capacity.


• The airline sought additional seats on high volume routes connecting Doha and Indian cities such as Mumbai, New Delhi and Bangalore on a temporary basis and without formal changes to the current weekly seat capacity entitlement established under the 2009 Qatar-India bilateral aviation framework.

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• A global survey of recreational drug-use, which for the first time polled respondents from India, has found that Indians — more than from other nationalities — are seeking help to reduce their alcohol intake.
  
• Alcohol, tobacco and cannabis were the most common stimulants used by Indians. Of the nearly 1,00,000 respondents from 30 countries, Indians reported ‘being drunk’ on an average of 41 times in the last 12 months — behind the U.K., the U.S., Canada, Australia and Denmark in that order but well above the global average of 33 times.

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• The National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) said that it stands by its findings certifying mid-day meals without onion and garlic provided by the Akshaya Patra Foundation (APF) in Karnataka schools as compliant with nutritional norms laid down by the State government.


• The response from the institute follows an open letter from experts asking it to withdraw its report on APF on the ground that it was not based on a “systematic scientific study”, which would include a physical inspection at schools.


• The signatories of the letter comprised 10 organisations as well as 94 experts, including faculty from prestigious institutes like IIM Bangalore, Tata Insitute of Social Sciences, Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, Right to Food Campaign-India, and People’s Union for Civil Liberties.

Source: Click Here

• The Enforcement Directorate approached Delhi's Patiala House Court seeking production warrant of corporate lobbyist Deepak Talwar in connection with the purchase of 43 aircraft by Indian Airlines in 2005.


• Talwar, who was extradited to India from Dubai along with the businessman Rajeev Saxena on January [latex]30^{th}[/latex], is currently in judicial custody in a money laundering case.


• The investigative agency, which suspects his involvement in irregular seat-sharing on Air India's profitable routes with some prominent international airlines, has urged the court to issue a production warrant against Talwar as custodial interrogation is a must to reach a logical conclusion.

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• The consolidated net profit of Manappuram Finance Ltd in Q4 of FY19 has recorded 43 per cent growth at Rs 255.59 crore against Rs 179.05 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.


• The company reported a full year consolidated PAT of Rs 919.87crore, an increase of 36 per cent over the previous year.


• The operating income stood at Rs 4,116 crore, up by 20.33 per cent over the previous year’s figure of Rs 3,421 crore.

Source: Click Here

• Karur Vysya Bank reported a rise of 18.7 per cent in March quarter net profit at ₹60.02 due to healthy income from retail banking even as bad loans spiked.


• The bank clocked a profit of ₹50.56 crore during the corresponding January-March period of 2017-18, as per a regulatory filing.

Source: Click Here

• Housing finance major HDFC Limited has partnered with India Mortgage Guarantee Corporation (IMGC) to offer a mortgage-guaranteed home loan product.


• The partnership aims to make it possible for HDFC to further penetrate home loan market and access an enlarged customer base, helping them to own a home of their choice.

Source: Click Here

• Ajax Amsterdam clinched the Dutch league title by finishing the season with a 4-1 win at De Graafschap


• They ended three points clear of PSV Eindhoven, who won 3-1 at home to Heracles Almelo on the last day of the campaign.


• Ajax’s first title since 2014 and a record-extending 34th overall completed the double after they won the KNVB Cup earlier this month.


• Ajax had been neck-and-neck with PSV over the last weeks, but made all but sure of the title when they beat Utrecht while defending champions PSV lost.

Source: Click Here

• 49 year old Nepali sherpa Kami Rita climbed Mt. Everest for the 23rd time and broke his own record for most summits on Mt. Everest. He successfully climbed the mountain from the Nepal side.


• In 2017, he became the third person to climb the highest peak for 21 times along with the record held by Apa Sherpa and Phurba Tashi Sherpa.


• Rita has also climbed other world’s highest peaks including K-2, Cho-Oyu, Manaslu and Lhotse.

Source: Click Here

• A 23-year-old pilot from Mumbai, Captain Aarohi Pandit, became first woman in the world to cross the Atlantic Ocean solo in a Light Sports Aircraft (LSA).


• She had started her journey from Wick, Scotland (United Kingdom) and landed her aircraft at Iqaluit Airport, Canada, post a 3,000 km long flight, under extremely bad weather conditions, with short stopovers in Greenland and Iceland.


• This mission is a part of her ongoing 1-year-long global circumnavigation flight launched with her friend Keithair Misquitta.

Source: Click Here

• The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) notified that A K Sikri, former Supreme Court judge has been appointed as the chairperson of the News Broadcasting Standards Authority.


• The News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA) is an independent self-regulatory body of 24×7 news channels (who are members of the NBA). It implements the Code of Broadcasting Ethics in the news industry.

Source: Click Here

• Major General AK Dhingra has appointed as the first chief of Armed Forces Special Operations Division (AFSOD) which comprised of commandos from all the three service.


• The government has set up Armed Forces Special Operations Division (AFSOD) which comprised of Special Forces commandos from Army’s Parachute Regiments, Navy’s Marine Commandos (MARCOS) and Air Force’s Garud commandos.


• The aim of this division is to undertake joint operations by three services.

Source: Click Here

• The Chinese Chang'e-4 rover may have confirmed a longstanding idea about the origin of a vast crater on the Moon's far side.


• The rover's landing site lies within a vast impact depression created by an asteroid strike billions of years ago.


• Now, mission scientists have found evidence that impact was so powerful it punched through the Moon's crust and into the layer below called the mantle.


• Chang'e-4 has identified what appear to be mantle rocks on the surface. It's something the rover was sent to the far side to find out.

Source: Click Here

• National swimming champion M. B. Balakrishnan, who had won gold medals in the 11th South Asian Games in Dhaka and in various national meets, died in a road accident in Chennai night.


• The 29-year-old was riding his bike along the EVR Salai at Arumbakkam when he fell under a concrete mixer lorry, which ran over and killed him.

A. FICCI B. RBI C. NITI Aayog D. SEBI Answer: B

A. Australia B. New Zealand C. Sri Lanka D. Austria Answer: D

A. Australia B. United States C. China D. Japan Answer: B

A. United States B. United Kingdom C. Japan D. Australia Answer: A

A. Florida B. Oklahoma C. Virginia D. Alabama Answer: D

A. Malaysia B. India C. China D. Russia Answer: C

A. 15 May B. 16 May C. 17 May D. 18 May Answer: B

A. USA B. France C. India D. Canada Answer: C

A. USA B. China C. Russia D. Canada Answer: B

A. Odisha B. Arunachal Pradesh C. Assam D. Tamil Nadu Answer: B

A. Switzerland B. Austria C. Sweden D. Poland Answer: B

A. USA B. Canada C. India D. Australia Answer: A

A. Uttarakhand B. Nagaland C. Meghalaya D. Sikkim Answer: D

A. China B. Japan C. Malaysia D. South Korea Answer: A

A. Sikkim B. Odisha C. Meghalaya D. Arunachal Pradesh Answer: D

A. Statue of Liberty B. Eiffel Tower C. Washington Monument D. Empire State Building Answer: B

A. Delhi B. Mumbai C. Chennai D. Bengaluru Answer: A

A. Tapan Singhel B. Brian Moynihan C. Hubert Joly D. Dinesh Pangtey Answer: D

A. Noida & Greater Noida B. Delhi & Gurugram C. Faridabad & Delhi D. Lucknow & Kanpur Answer: A

A. Chhaya Sharma B. Sameer Verma C. Kiran Bedi D. Priyanka Sharma Answer: A

A. India B. Japan C. South Korea D. Bangladesh Answer: A

A. Tamil Nadu B. Kerala C. Odisha D. Punjab Answer: A

A. May [latex]{13}^{th}[/latex] B. May[latex]{16}^{th}[/latex] C. May [latex]{15}^{th}[/latex] D. May [latex]{21}^{th}[/latex] Answer: C

A. Luxembourg B. Zurich C. Vienna D. Finland Answer: C

A. V Bottas B. M Verstappen C. Esteban Ocon D. Lewis Hamilton Answer: D

A. Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu B. Paradip, Odisha C. Diamond Harbour, West Bengal D. Ennore, Tamil Nadu Answer: C

A. Shriya Maben B. Anju Jain C. Mamatha Maben D. G S Lakshmi Answer: D