• This day is observed every year on [latex]18^{th}[/latex] April to preserve the human heritage and recognise the efforts of all the relevant organisations in the field.


• This day was announced by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) in 1982 and was approved by the General Assembly of UNESCO in 1983.

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• French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe announced an international architects’ competition to rebuild the spire of Notre Dame Cathedral. A massive fire engulfed the historic cathedral in Paris while renovation work was under way. The cathedral’s spire collapsed under the fire.


• Philippe said the competition would give the 850-year-old building “a spire suited to the techniques and challenges of our time”. The spire was added to the cathedral during a 19th Century restoration project led by architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc.

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• Egypt’s election commission said that a referendum potentially allowing President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to stay in office until 2030 will take place on April 20-22.


• The ballot, featuring several constitutional amendments, was given final approval in parliament.


• The changes, if approved, would extend Sisi’s current term to six years from four and then allow him to run again for a third term lasting six years.


• They would also grant the president new powers over the appointment of judicial officials, bolster the role of the military and create an upper parliamentary chamber.


• Sisi came to power after spearheading the removal as president of Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013. He was elected to a second four-year term in 2018.

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• The Trump administration opened the door for lawsuits against foreign firms operating on properties Cuba seized from Americans after the 1959 revolution.


• US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he will not renew a bar on litigation that has been in place for two decades, meaning that lawsuits can be filed starting on May 2 when the current suspension expires.


• The major policy shift, which the State Department said could draw hundreds of thousands of legal claims worth tens of billions of dollars, appears intended to intensify pressure on Havana at a time Washington is demanding that it end its support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The move comes despite opposition from the European Union.

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• North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the testing of a new tactical guided weapon, state media said, the North`s first public weapons test since a second summit with the United States ended without agreement.


• The Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) did not describe exactly what weapon was tested, including whether it was a missile or another type of weapon. "Tactical" implies a short-range weapon rather than the long-range ballistic missiles that have been seen as a threat to the United States.

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• Voting in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections begins, with 95 seats spread across 11 states and a union territory going to polls. In Tamil Nadu, 38 out of the 39 seats will vote in this phase with the exception of Vellore, which became the first Lok Sabha constituency where elections were countermanded over fears of cash being used to entice voters.


• And polling was deferred to April 23 in East Tripura constituency after Opposition parties raised security concerns.


• Lok Sabha Election Phase 2 will see polling in key electoral states such as Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.


• Several high profile candidates are in fray among the 1,600-odd contestants in this phase. Union ministers Jitendra Singh, Jual Oram, Sadananda Gowda and Pon Radhakrishnan, former prime minister H D Deve Gowda and DMK's Dayanidhi Maran, A Raja and Kanimozhi, BJP's Tesjaswi Surya and Hema Malini, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah to name a few.

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• Jet Airways' group of lenders said that they are "reasonably hopeful that the bid process is likely to be successful". The statement from the lenders, led by State Bank of India (SBI), came a day after the airline suspended all its flight operations indefinitely.


• Jet Airways - once India's largest private sector airline - took the decision to stop flying on Wednesday evening after the lenders declined to release emergency funds for the carrier. Saddled with a debt pile of more than Rs. 8,000 crore, Jet Airways is struggling to stay afloat as it owes vast sums to lessors, suppliers, pilots and oil companies.

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• As India votes in the second phase of Lok Sabha election 2019 on April 18, high pitched elections campaigns of political parties will continue across India.


• After finishing his public meeting in Gujarat's Himatnagar in the morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will head to woo voters Karnataka's Bagalkot and Belgavi in the day and Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram in the evening.


• BJP national president Amit Shah visit address rallies at Chhattisgarh's Raigarh and Takhatpur, and Maharashtra's Aurangabad and Jalna. Home Minister Rajnath Singh will hold rallies West Bengal's Uluberia and Malda.

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• The Supreme Court agreed to hear a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging a provision of the Representation of People Act, which deprives prisoners their right to vote.


• A bench headed by CJI Ranjan Gogoi said the court would also like to know why the petitioner raised the particular issue and that too under Article 32 of the Constitution of India.

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• Amidst tight security, polling was underway in Srinagar Parliamentary constituency of Jammu and Kashmir to decide the fate of 10 candidates, including National Conference president Farooq Abdullah who is seeking a re-election from here.


• Polling began at 7:am in the constituency, and all arrangements were in place to ensure smooth conduct of the second phase of Parliamentary polls.

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• State-run Central Bank of India, which is waiting to be freed from the clutches of prompt corrective action, has levied a unique annual maintenance charge on select accounts with one-year retrospective effect.


• The move, aimed to boost its fee income, has triggered customer resentment. An investor association has registered complaints with the bank and has written to the Reserve Bank of India highlighting the matter.

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• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued banknotes of Rs. 50 denomination bearing the signature of Governor Shaktikanta Das.


• The design of these notes is similar in all respects to Rs. 50 banknotes in Mahatma Gandhi (new) series, the central bank said in a statement. "All banknotes in the denomination of Rs. 50 issued by the Reserve Bank in the past will continue to be legal tender".


• The RBI had in August 2017 issued the fluorescent blue-coloured Rs. 50 notes bearing the signature of the then governor Urjit R Patel.

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• Warner and Bairstow put on another rollicking show after a Dhoni-less Super Kings struggles to get going against an accurate attack.


• For any opposition, the sight of the inspirational M.S. Dhoni, laid low by a back spasm, watching his team from the pavilion is a big motivating factor.


• Sun risers Hyderabad seized on the huge opportunity to re discover its winning ways with an emphatic, six-wicket victory over table-topper Chennai Super Kings at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Wednesday night.

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• To make the playoffs, Kolkata Knight Riders need to win at least four of their remaining six matches, of which three are at home.


• Their house in complete disorder after seven defeats from eight outings, the Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore will be desperate for a win to stay afloat in the IPL when they take on Kolkata Knight Riders in Kolkata on [latex]19^{th}[/latex] April.


• It would be a great opportunity for the Bangalore outfit to post a win against an opponent who are low on confidence having slipped from second to sixth position in the points table after suffering three straight defeats.

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• Fincare Small Finance Bank (SFB) has been awarded the prestigious Celent Model Bank 2019 Award in the category of Financial Inclusion, for ‘Redesigning Lending to Reach Small Businesses’.


• The Award was announced at the Innovation & Insight Day organized by Celent in New York. Fincare Small Finance Bank commenced banking operations on the 21st of July, 2017, after receiving the final license from the RBI in May 2017 under Section 22 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

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• NASA has been awarded three indian student team in its Annual Human Exploration Rover challenge 2019 at the US Space and Rocket Centre in Huntsville,Alabama.The program invites college students and high school students to develop and test roving vehicles for future missions to the Mars,Moon and beyond.


• ”AIAA Neil Armstrong Best Design Award” won byteam from KIET Group of Institutions in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.


• Team from Lovely Professional University in Phagwara, Punjab, received “STEM Engagement Award”.


• TheMukesh Patel School of Technology Management and Engineering, Mumbai, Maharashtra, received the “Frank Joe Sexton Memorial Pit Crew Award”.

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• Karnataka cadre IAS officer Mohammed Mohsin was suspended with immediate effect for "not acting in conformity with the ECI's instructions concerning Special Protection Group protectees."


• Posted as General Observer in Odisha, he allegedly checked PM Narendra Modi's chopper in Sambalpur in violation of the laid down norms. He will be in the Sambalpur district headquarters until further instructions.

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• Cyber security company McAfee announced the appointment of Sanjay Manohar as its Managing Director for India operations. He will build and lead teams to drive product revenues and increase adoption of Cloud-based products.


• Manohar brings over 25 years of industry experience spanning leadership roles across the APAC region.

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• Tigers in the Kanha reserve had the highest faecal glucocorticoids metabolites level (markers for stress).


• Compared with 200-odd Amur tigers in Russian Far East, the Bengal tigers in three tiger reserves in India — Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Sariska — are about 20% more stressed, a study found. The Indo-Russian team measured the stress level by studying the glucocorticoids metabolites present in the faeces of tigers.

A. Algiers, Algeria ‎B. Damascus, Syria C. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia D. Rabat, Morocco Answer: C

A. Norway B. Denmark C. Sweden D. Finland Answer: A

A. 138 B. 140 C. 141 D. 150 Answer: B

A. Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport complex, France B. Los Angeles International Airport complex, California C. Changi Airport complex, Singapore D. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport complex, Georgia Answer: C

A. Canara Bank B. Indian Bank C. State Bank of India D. Bank of Baroda Answer: D

A. Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion(DIPP) B. Department of Economic Affairs(DEA) C. Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) D. Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) Answer: C

A. Arundhati Katju B. Menaka Guruswamy C. Harish Salve D. Both 1 & 2 Answer: D

A. Five B. Six C. Three D. Four Answer: A

A. Regina King B. Dwayne Johnson C. Ariana Grande D. Emilia Clarke Answer: C

A. Rajesh Ram Mishra B. Veerappan C. Jitendra Chaddah D. Satya Gupta Answer: D

A. NepaliCube-1 B. NepaliQAF-1 C. Nepalicom-1 D. NepaliSat-1 Answer: A

A. Srilanka B. Bangladesh C. Indonesia D. Myanmar Answer: B

A. Voskhod B. Cassini C. Space Shuttle D. Vostok Answer: B

A. Russia B. India C. Pakistan D. Srilanka Answer: C

A. Calvin Coolidge B. Harry Truman C. Gerald Ford D. Alan Garcia Answer: D

A. Theme – “Rural Landscapes” B. Theme – “Hear the Future” C. Theme – “Towards a Common Future” D. Theme – “Weather-ready, climate-smart” Answer: A

A. Saudi Aramco B. ExxonMobil C. DuPont D. BASF Answer: A

A. 17th April B. 18th April C. 19th April D. 20th April Answer: B

A. 76 B. 84 C. 95 D. 123 Answer: C

A. Puducherry B. Andaman and Nicobar Islands C. Lakshadweep D. Daman and Diu Answer: A

A. Raavana 1 B. Colombo X C. Kataragama D. Vibhishana Answer: A

A. Bajrang Punia B. Yogeshwar Dutt C. Sushil Kumar D. Jinder Mahal Answer: A

A. Russia B. North Korea C. United States D. United Kingdom Answer: C

A. Donald Trump B. Kim Jong Un C. Moon Jae-in D. Xi Jinping Answer: B