• The International Day for Biological Diversity is a United Nations–sanctioned international day for the promotion of biodiversity issues.


• It is currently held on May [latex]22^{nd}[/latex]. The International Day for Biological Diversity falls within the scope of the UN Post-2015 Development Agenda's Sustainable Development Goals.

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• Theresa May will make the case for her new Brexit plan in Parliament later, amid signs that Conservative opposition to her leadership is hardening.


• The prime minister will give a statement to MPs on her changes to the Withdrawal Agreement Bill - including her promise to give MPs a vote on holding another referendum.


• But Labour MPs said too little had changed for them to come on board.


• And one ex-Tory minister questioned whether June's vote would even happen.


• MPs have rejected the withdrawal agreement negotiated with the EU three times, and attempts to find a formal compromise with Labour have failed.

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• The UN envoy for Libya has warned that the battle for Tripoli is "just the start of a long and bloody war".


• Ghassan Salame is calling for immediate steps to cut off arms flows fuelling the fighting in Libya.


• One side of the conflict said it is receiving armoured vehicles from Turkey, while the other said it is receiving them from Jordan.

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• David Beasley, head of the World Food Programme (WFP), told the BBC the agency's efforts to reach people in need were being repeatedly blocked.


• He said he hoped "good Houthi leaders" would prevail over the corrupt ones. the agency warned of a possible suspension of aid delivery.


• Yemen is the worst humanitarian crisis in the world currently and some 12 million people - almost 40% of the population - are on the brink of starvation, according to Mr Beasley. Most of those most in need are in Houthi-controlled areas.

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• The US government has issued an alert warning that Chinese-made drones could pose a cyber-espionage risk to American businesses and other organisations that use them.


• The notice added that those using the flying aircraft for tasks related to national security or critical infrastructure were most at risk.


• The warning does not refer to a specific company. But market-leader DJI said it had taken steps to keep its clients' data secure.


• "We give customers full and complete control over how their data is collected, stored, and transmitted," the firm said in a statement.

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• Judge asks President’s accountants to comply with Congressional subpoena, he will appeal decision


• A federal judge has ordered U.S. President Donald Trump’s accountants, Mazars USA, to comply with a subpoena from the House of Representatives Oversight Committee and submit financial records related to Mr. Trump to the Committee.


• The Committee had subpoenaed financial records and communications from the accountants pertaining to Mr. Trump, his businesses and charity, from 2011 to 2018.

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• Germany will do everything to save the nuclear deal with Iran, the new German Ambassador to India, Walter J. Lindner, told The Hindu.


• His statement reflects the official position of Germany, which is working to prevent a conflict in the Persian Gulf and a consequent oil shock for nations like India.

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• For Swiss Parliament member Nik Gugger, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s recent visit to the Swiss Parliament (Nationalrat) in Berne was more than an official call as it turned out to be an occasion for both to feel at home.


• The connection of the 49-year-old Swiss MP, who represented the EVP (Evangelical Party in Switzerland), with Thalassery brought a cosy vibe to the Chief Minister’s visit to Nationalrat.

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• Politicians may come and go, but the Centre’s bureaucratic machine remains to smooth the transition for the incoming Council of Ministers.


• Summaries, concept notes and 100-day action plans are being prepared by officials in a number of Ministries this week.


• After the publication of exit polls that projected another win for the NDA, officials said they speeded up the preparation of plans.


• “We need to dig out the BJP’s manifesto so we can plan for the next few months,” said a senior official from the Rural Development Ministry.

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• The Court of Inquiry (CoI) of the Indian Air Force (IAF) that is investigating the Mi-17 helicopter crash, which killed six personnel and one civilian, is expected to submit its findings in the next couple of weeks, IAF officials said.


• With the preliminary findings indicating that the aircraft was shot down by India’s own ground-based air defence systems, action is likely to be initiated once the summary of evidence is presented.

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• The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has planned to introduce artificial intelligence (AI) system in the MCA 21 portal in order to make the compliance process easier as well as to ensure routine enforcement activities are done regularly on autopilot basis.


• In its monthly newsletter for the month of April 2019, the secretary of the MCA, Injeti Srinivas stated “MCA will look to AI in MCA-21 when version 3 of the portal is rolled out.”

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• Navy ships from Myanmar reached Port Blair to attend the opening ceremony of the 8th Indo-Myanmar Coordinated Patrol (IMCOR) which will be held from May.


• "Myanmar Navy Ship UMS King TabinShweHtee (773) and UMS Inlay (OPV-54) have arrived at Port Blair on May 20 for the 'Opening Ceremony' of the 8th Indo-Myanmar coordinated patrol (IMCOR), at Andaman and Nicobar Command.


• The Myanmar delegation led by Commodore Htein Win, Commander, Ayeyarwady Naval Command, called on Cmde Ashutosh Ridhorkar, VSM, Naval Component Commander on May 20," a press release by the Ministry of Defense read.

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• External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj held talks with her Kyrgyzstan counterpart, Chingiz Aidarbekov, in Bishkek ahead of a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).


• “Swaraj and Aidarbekov held productive discussions on all aspects of bilateral relations, including political and defence ties, trade and investment and people-to-people ties,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

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• Muthoot Finance, a diversified financial services company, expects to disburse ‘salaried personal loans’ to the tune of Rs 750-1,000 crore across the country over the next twelve months, a top official said.


• This systemically important non-banking finance company had last year diversified into the unsecured personal loans business.

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• The Reserve Bank of India released a draft framework for setting up a regulatory sandbox (RS) for fintech players in the counter, the market and insurance regulators have also launched similar initiatives.


• RS is an infrastructure that helps fintech players live test their products or solutions, before getting the necessary regulatory approvals for a mass launch. It saves start-ups time and cost.

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• The board of directors of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to create a specialised supervisory and regulatory cadre within the RBI to strengthen the supervision and regulation of commercial banks, urban cooperative banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), the central bank said in a press statement.


• The Central Board of the RBI, which met here, reviewed the present structure of supervision at the RBI in the context of the growing diversity, complexities, and interconnectedness within the Indian financial sector.

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• Indian runner Gomathi Marimuthu failed a dope test immediately after winning the Asian 800 metres title last month and has been suspended, the national governing body said.


• The 30-year-old tested positive for anabolic steroids after her win at the Asian championships in Doha last month, a spokesman for the Athletics Federation of India told AFP.

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• Walking into the ring to the loud cheers of a packed crowd at the Karmabir Nabin Chandra Bordoloi Indoor Stadium here, the London Olympic bronze medallist wasted little time in her 5-0 win.


• Six-time world champion Mary Kom made a successful return to 51kg category by overwhelming her opponent Mala Rai of Nepal to reach the semifinals and be assured of a medal as Indians continued to dominate the India Open boxing tournament.

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• Bengaluru-based medical doctor Hema Divakar was honoured with the ‘Global Asian of the Year 2018-19’ award in Dubai recently for her yeomen services and contributions to the women’s healthcare ecosystem, in India, said its organiser ‘Asia One’ magazine’s publisher.


• Hema received the award at the Asian Business; Social Forum 2019 under the ‘In Service of the Society and the Nation’ category from UAE’s Trade Promotion Director Mohammed Naser Hamdan Al Zaabi.

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• A Nepalese Sherpa has set a new Mount Everest record, making it to the top for the 24th time - with his second summit in only seven days.


• Kami Rita Sherpa, 49, successfully scaled the world's tallest mountain morning.


• It was his second record in seven days, having reached the summit for the 23rd time on [latex]15^{th}[/latex] May.


• He says he has no plans to retire, and hopes to clock up more ascents in the years to come.

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• Ghana's all-time leading goal-scorer Asamoah Gyan has retired from international football a month before the start of the Africa Cup of Nations.


• His decision comes as he was replaced as Ghana captain, with Andre Ayew likely to be given the role in Egypt.


• "If the decision of the coach is to give captaincy of the tournament to another player while I am named in the team (squad) of the tournament, I wish to recuse myself from the tournament," Gyan said in a statement.

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• Vice Admiral Bimal Verma filed a fresh petition at a military tribunal here, seeking cancellation of the defence ministry’s order appointing Vice Admiral Karambir Singh as the next Navy Chief.


• In his petition, Verma also sought quashing of a note issued by the defence ministry rejecting his plea against Singh’s appointment.

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• India’ ambitious moon mission Chandrayaan 2 will be launched after July [latex]9^{th}[/latex], Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman Dr. K Sivan said of the mission that missed an earlier launch window in January.


• “Chandrayaan 2 is going to be a landmark mission for India which will be launched between July [latex]9^{th}[/latex] and [latex]16^{th}[/latex]. Chandrayan 2 is the most challenging mission undertaken by ISRO.


• It will land at a place where nobody else has landed before,” Sivan said, according to news agency ANI.

Source: Click Here

• In a pre-dawn launch, Indian space agency ISRO scripted history by successfully launching earth observation satellite RISAT-2B that would enhance the country’s surveillance capabilities among others.


• As the 25-hour countdown which began concluded, the agency’s trusted workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C46) blasted off at 5.30 am from the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here on its 48th mission, carrying the 615 kg satellite.

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• India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket carrying radar imaging earth observation satellite RISAT-2B lifted off from the first launch pad of the rocket port here.


• About 15 minutes into the flight the rocket would eject the 615 kg RISAT-2B into about 555-km orbit.


• According to the ISRO, the RISAT-2B with a life span of five years will be used for agriculture, forestry and disaster management support.

A. Serbia B. Georgia C. Armenia D. Poland Answer: A

A. Malaysia B. Sri Lanka C. Indonesia D. Australia Answer: B

A. Niki Lauda B. Graham Hill C. James Hunt D. Mike Hawthorn Answer: A

A. Mueenul Haq B. Sohail Mehmood C. Imtiaz Ahmad D. Zaheer Ali Answer: A

A. Annie Ernaux B. Jokha Alharthi C. Olga Tokarczuk D. Alia Trabucco Answer: B

A. Huawei B. Baidu C. Xiaomi D. Alibaba Answer: A

A. 62 B. 80 C. 91 D. 100 Answer: B

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

A. Maldives B. Mauritius C. Malaysia D. Myanmar Answer: D

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

A. Italy B. India C. China D. USA Answer: C

A. Malavath Purna B. Mohan Singh Kohli C. Harish Kapadia D. Keval Hiren Kakka Answer: D

A. Devi Shetty B. Hema Divakar C. Indira Hinduja D. Aditi Govitrikar Answer: B

A. 5 B. 7 C. 9 D. 11 Answer: C

A. Rajasthan B. Punjab C. Uttar Pradesh D. Bihar Answer: A

A. Malaysia B. Singapore C. Indonesia D. Brunei Answer: C

A. Dhruv Sunish and Anirudh Chandrasekar B. Vishnu Vardhan and Anirudh Chandrasekar C. Anirudh Chandrasekar and Niki Poonacha D. Vishnu Vardhan and Niki Poonacha Answer: C

A. International Organization for Standardization B. Bureau of Indian Standards C. Securities and Exchange Board of India D. Federation of Indian Export Organisations Answer: B

A. 2 B. 3 C. 4 D. 5 Answer: A

A. Sunil Grover B. Raghav Juyal C. Krushna Abhishek D. Kapil Sharma Answer: D

A. Jokha al-Harthi B. Taylor Jenkins Reid C. Kate Quinn D. Marlon James Answer: A

A. Lena Waithe B. Sheila Johnson C. Saray Khumalo D. Shonda Rhimes Answer: C

A. Reliance Industries Limited B. Tata Group C. Infosys D. Tata Consultancy Services Answer: A

A. Bhutan B. Nepal C. Myanmar D. Bangladesh Answer: D

A. 2015 B. 2016 C. 2017 D. 2018 Answer: C

A. Uzbekistan B. Kyrgyzstan C. Russia D. Pakistan Answer: A

A. GSLV-D6 B. GSLV Mk III C. PSLV-C46 D. PSLV-C44 Answer: C

A. Canada &UK B. Germany &Spain C. Netherlands &Sweden D. NewZealand &France Answer: D

A. Japan B. Taiwan C. Indonesia D. Malaysia Answer: B

A. PaulRyan B. Kevin McCarthy C. Nancy Pelosi D. CharlesManatt Answer: C

A. Masood Khalid B. Imtiaz Ahmad C. Mueenul Haq D. Zaheer Janjua Answer: C

A. NASA B. JAXA C. ISRO D. CNES Answer: A