Introduction
The article Current Affairs One Liners May 2019 includes One Liners with an explanation, analysis and issues of current events, including political or industrial controversy or public policy issues in the month of May.
May 2019
1. Important Days
- World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) is observed around the world every year on 31 May. It isintended to encourage a 24-hour period of abstinence from all forms of tobacco consumption around the globe.
- Austria has named a top lawyer, Brigitte Bierlein, to be interim chancellor – the first woman to occupy the post – ahead of early elections.
- US President Donald Trump has announced tariffs on all goods coming from Mexico in a bid to curb illegal immigration.
- The Philippines has sent tonnes of rubbish back to Canada, after a weeks-long diplomatic spat that saw President Rodrigo Duterte threaten to “sail to Canada and dump their garbage there”.
- The Chosun Ilbo said Kim Hyok Chol, who laid the groundwork for the Hanoi meeting and accompanied Mr. Kim on his private train, was executed by firing squad for “betraying the supreme leader” after he was turned by the US.
- Officials from India and Pakistan hold the meeting at Kartarpur Zero Point to discuss the modalities for a corridor linking Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur across the border.
- The US is attempting to check on reports that a senior North Korean official involved in Pyongyang’s non-proliferation talks with Washington has been executed, said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
- The UN special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment also warned that if London agrees to an extradition request from Washington, Assange risked the death penalty.
- British Prime Minister Theresa May must rule out a “no-deal” Brexit, the head of Britain’s main business lobby group urged, warning again of “severe” economic consequences.
- The Centre is mulling a new version of its flagship “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” scheme that will focus on educating women about their rights, an official of the women and child development (WCD) ministry has said.
- Narendra Modi’s second government has seven ministers from Maharashtra, including one each from ally Shiv Sena and Republican Party of India (RPI).
- Large parts of central and northwestern India will continue to face a heat wave this week, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said as the mercury touched the 48-degree mark in Maharashtra’s Chandrapur town.
- The Supreme Court asked Assam’s coordinator for the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to ensure that a fair procedure is adopted in dealing with the claims and objections filed by those excluded from the list, currently being updated to weed out illegal immigrants.
- The Indian Air Force(IAF) and Indian Space Research Organization(ISRO) signed an agreement on the selection of crew and training for Gaganyaan Programme.
- The first Rafale combat aircraft would be inducted in the ‘Golden Arrows’ 17 Squadron of Indian Air Force (IAF). This squadron was commanded by Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa during the Kargil war in 1999.
- Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has formed two separate 6 member panels to strengthen the sale of stressed corporate assets and housing loan portfolios.
- According to the data of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), for the rst time in last six years, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows have declined in this fiscal (2018-19), falling by 1% to USD 44.37 billion.
- IDBI Bank reported its 10th consecutive quarterly loss in the March 2019 quarter, even as the top management said it would turn profitable in the third quarter on the back of huge recoveries and monetisation of non-core assets.
- The Export Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) reported a turnaround performance, posting a net profit of ₹82 crore in FY19, against a net loss of ₹2,924 crore in the year-ago period.
- India won both the gold medals on offer, and bagged a silver, in mixed team events on the final day of competition to finish the ISSF World Cup in Munich with a staggering five gold medals, their best performance in a World Cup.</li.
- The tennis world is more used to seeing the ruthless side of 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, but since becoming a mother the American’s maternal instinct is spilling over into her professional life.
- Hosts England defeated South Africa by 104 runs in the 2019 World Cup opener at Kennington Oval in London. England and South Africa have faced each other in World Cup seven times now, with England winning four times.
- Indian playwright and journalist Annie Zaidi won the Nine Dots Prize 2019 for her essay “Bread, Cement, Cactus.” She won the cash prize of USD 100,000 (Rs 69.83 lakh)
- Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Airport of Indore, Madhya Pradesh was declared as International Airport. It was given the International status as per sub-rule (b) of rule 3 of the Passport (Entry into India) Rules, 1950 by the Central Government.
- Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain, AVSM, VSM assumed charge as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief(FOC-in-C), Eastern Naval Command (ENC) from Vice Admiral Karambir Singh, PVSM, AVSM, ADC at an impressive Ceremonial Parade held at the Naval Base on 30th May 2019.
- Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) for Resource Management, Sustainability and Partnerships.
- Ministires have been alloted among all 54 Cabinet and State Ministers. As per the new allocation, Narendra Modi is Prime Minister and also in-charge of: Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.
- Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, who led his YSR Congress Party to a thumping victory in the assembly elections, was sworn in as chief minister of Andhra Pradesh.
- Chief of the Air Sta Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa has received the baton of Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) from Chief of the Naval Sta Admiral Sunil Lamba, an outgoing Chairman of COSC.
- Former Flipkart Executive Sandeep Patil has been appointed as India Managing Director of Truecaller. He served as the head of consumer and commercial lending vertical at Flipkart until his new appointment with Truecaller.
- The Hindi translation of an Academy Publication, Digital Dilemma, has been launched by Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS) aka Oscar Academy President, John Bailey, during a special event at New Delhi.
- Four popular science books published by Vigyan Prasar were released by Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary of Department of Science and Technology(DST) at Indian National Science Academy (INSA) in New Delhi.
- Former American professional basketball player, Lamar Odom, aged 39, launched a new book titled ‘Darkness to light’. The book reveals the dark secrets of his life. The book has been published by BenBella Books.
1. International News
- Three more prominent US Democrats have called for the impeachment of President Trump, after Special Counsel Robert Mueller made his first public remarks.
- Seven South Korean tourists have died and another 21 people are missing after a boat sank on the Danube river in Hungary's capital, Budapest.
- Israeli lawmakers have voted to dissolve parliament after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a coalition government.
- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced a new cabinet in which, for the first time in the country's history, half of all ministers are women.
- Julian Assange was too ill to appear at his court hearing in London on Thursday, his lawyer said.
- After retired honorary Lieutenant Mohammed Sanaullah, who served the Indian Army for 30 years, was declared a 'foreigner' and detained by foreigners' tribunal, the Supreme Court told Assam NRC coordinator to ask the officers to be fair.
- Narendra Modi takes oath as the Prime Minister, the focus will be on a nearly 22-year-old regional grouping that India is looking to drive connectivity and development as an alternative to Saarc.
- The demand for ‘job-oriented’ undergraduate programmes offered by affiliated colleges of Mahatma Gandhi University (MGU) seems declining.
- The Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) has issued orders to stop production at Krebs Biochemicals and Industries Limited at Kothapalli in Kasimkota mandal, after finding evidence on violation of emission norms.
- The State government has directed all the key departments to be on the alert in view of the ongoing heatwave conditions as well as onset of monsoon in June second week.
- The bank’s proposal for merger with Indiabulls Housing Finance is pending with the Reserve Bank of India, and is keen on finding investors to meet its immediate capital requirements.
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has carried out important changes in its master direction on Know-Your-Customer (KYC) for regulated entities (REs).
- Forward Eden Hazard scored twice as Chelsea defeated their London rivals Arsenal 4-1 to win the Europa League 2018/19. This is the second time that Chelsea have clinched Europa League after first winning it in 2012/13.
- Queen Elizabeth and Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry, met the 2019 World Cup captains a day before the tournament starts.
- Madame Tussauds today unveiled Team India captain Virat Kohli's statue at Lord's Cricket Ground in London to mark the launch of 2019 ICC World Cup.
- Lifetime Recognition Award‘ by the Confederation of Horticulture Association of India was given to Professor N. Kumar, Vice-Chancellor of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University on 28th May 2019.
- Papua New Guinea has appointed a new prime minister after weeks of political upheaval. Lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to elect James Marape, a former finance minister, who resigned in April in protest against a gas project.
- Scott Morrison was sworn in as Australia’s Prime Minister on Wednesday, 11 days after retaining the position in the country’s general election.
- Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) leader Pema Khandu was sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh for a second term.
- Jagan Mohan Reddy, who led the YSR congress, to a thumping victory in the assembly elections, took oath as the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh.
- ‘I, Anupam’ a book written by prominent Bengali writer Nabaneeta Dev Sen on the Naxal movement in West Bengal, is now available in English.
- Assam’s noted artist and former senior art adviser and deputy director of state Directorate of Information and Public Relations, Benu Misra passed away in Guwahati.
1. Important Days
- The “International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers”, May [latex]29^{th}[/latex], is “a day to pay tribute to all the men and women who have served and continue to serve in United Nations.
- US National Security Adviser John Bolton has said "naval mines almost certainly from Iran" were to blame for the damage to oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman earlier this month.
- New Zealand's main opposition party has denied hacking into the government's computer systems to steal documents relating to the country's budget.
- Johnson & Johnson, one of the world's largest drug manufacturers, has gone on trial in a multi-billion dollar lawsuit by the US state of Oklahoma.
- France and Germany have disagreed on who should take one of the EU's key roles as leaders from the bloc met following parliamentary elections.
- An Australian teenager who broke an egg on a controversial far-right senator's head says he has given almost A$100,000 (£55,000; $69,000) to survivors of the Christchurch mosque attacks.
- Punjab CM put pressure to undertake a thorough probe into the destruction of the centuries-old Guru Nanak Palace in Narowal.
- Kejriwal lauded his party workers for running a “superb” campaign that was considered to be one of the best in the country.
- Discussing climate change, Ghosh said across the world the people are aware of the “disaster that awaits them”, but seemed to have decided to look away.
- India issued an updated travel advisory for Sri Lanka, saying that the security situation was gradually returning to normal in the island nation but Indian nationals travelling there need to be careful and vigilant.
- The quantum of water to be released is in line with the Supreme Court’s order on the February 16 last year.
- The Election Commission (EC) constituted eight working groups to thoroughly appraise specific areas, based on its experience during the conduct of the Lok Sabha polls.
- A petition moved before the Delhi High Court has sought directions to the government to set ‘two-child norm’ as a criteria for government jobs, aids and subsidies, to control the country’s rising population.
- Mizoram turned into a dry state again with the coming into effect of a new law that bans the sale and consumption of alcohol in the northeastern state.
- The RBI has increased the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) time window for customer transactions (initial cut-off) from 4.30pm to 6pm, effective June [latex]1^{st}[/latex].
- HDFC Life has also invested in service platforms which offer both self service and assisted modes of customer service.
- Digital banking and ATMs have ensured that people can bank any time, anywhere. And yet, people still like doing a little banking at their branch. That’s why many banks are choosing to go ‘phygital’.
- China won the 2019 16 Edition of Sudirman Cup Badminton title by beating Japan in men’s doubles, women’s singles and men’s singles to clinch the title for 11 time. The tournament was held in Nanning, China between 19 and 26 May 2019.
- Federation Internationale de Football Association’s (FIFA) Appeal Committee conrmed the lifetime ban for the former head of the Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) Marco Polo Del Nero from all football-related activities at national and international level.
- The Festival honoured the French lmmaker Agnès Varda, by featuring her on the social poster of the festival. She died in in March 2019.
- Walmart announced it has appointed Suresh Kumar to new elevated Chief Technology Officer and Chief Development Officer role reporting directly to CEO Doug McMillon, effective July [latex]8^{th}[/latex].
- Ola Electric Mobility (OEM) said it has appointed former Vodafone Group CEO Arun Sarin as an Independent Director on its board.
- Naveen Patnaik took oath as the Chief Minister of Odisha for the fifth time after a decisive victory in the state elections that were held along with national elections.
- Facebook plans to launch its own cryptocurrency “GlobalCoin” in 2020. The cryptocurrency will be available in around a dozen countries at launch where it’s expected to offer people adorable and secure payments without the need for a bank account.
- Veteran communist leader P.P.C. Joshi passed away at his house in Puppalaguda after prolonged illness.
1. International News
- A knife-wielding man has attacked a group of schoolchildren waiting for a bus in the Japanese city of Kawasaki near Tokyo.
- Tory leadership candidate Jeremy Hunt has warned that his party will be committing "political suicide" if it tries to push through a no-deal Brexit.
- EU leaders are heading to Brussels to assess the post-election political landscape and consider rival candidates for the EU's top jobs.
- Police in Spain have made a number of arrests as part of an investigation into match-fixing. Current and former players as well as club executives - reportedly from the country's top two divisions - have been detained.
- Maithripala Sirisena urges the international community to continue to provide economic assistance and lift the travel advisories issued to tourists.
- The 500-year-old Jesus College in the University of Cambridge has elected its first woman and first black as its Master, reflecting change in the ancient university that recently launched a study into its historical links with slavery.
- The government announced in New Delhi that it has invited leaders from BIMSTEC countries to Prime Minister Modi’s inauguration, leaving out Pakistan, which is not part of the seven-member regional grouping.
- Mizoram has once again become a “completely dry state” following a new liquor law that prohibits the sale and consumption of alcohol, a Minister said.
- Raja, who has now been arrested and sent to jail, told the police that he had promised his girlfriend that he could obtain the examination paper.
- The Uttar Pradesh government had earlier informed the apex court that it had filed a fresh status report on investigation in the Hapur lynching case.
- The ED made the submission while the court was hearing a plea of Wave Hospitality Ltd, challenging an agency’s notice to it asking the company why the provisional attachment of its hotel in Aerocity area here should not be confirmed.
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to cut the policy repo rate by 35-50 basis points (bps) in the forthcoming monetary policy review, according to the bank’s ‘Ecowrap’ report.
- Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), announced that it has launched ‘Bank on Wheels’ facility in 14 of its lead districts in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, besides Vijayawada.
- The GDP growth was 7.2% during 2017-18. As per the report, 2018-19 will be the second consecutive year of an economic slowdown.
- India’s Rahi Sarnobat won the gold in 25m pistol event at the ISSF World Cup in Munich. The 28-year-old in the process also sealed a quota place for India in the event for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
- FIFA’s appeals committee upheld a lifetime ban issued to the former head of the Brazilian football federation (CBF), Marco Polo Del Nero, for bribery and corruption.
- The 17-year-old shattered his own senior record of 245 points, set in Delhi earlier this year, to win the 10m air pistol gold with a score of 246.3.
- The architectural heritage of Orchha town in Madhya Pradesh which depict peculiar style of the Bundela dynasty have been included in UNESCO’s tentative list of world heritage sites following a proposal sent by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to the U.N. body.
- Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) president Prem Singh Tamang, popularly known as P S Golay, took oath as the chief minister of Sikkim.
- Malawi’s President Peter Mutharika has been narrowly elected to a second term. The 78-year-old incumbent had faced strong competition in the [latex]21^{st}[/latex] May election, including from his deputy. The result was announced after an injunction ordered by the country’s high court was lifted.
- Murray Gell-Mann, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist who brought order to the universe by helping discover and classify subatomic particles, has died at the age of 89.
1. International News
- The big centre-right and centre-left blocs in the European Parliament have lost their combined majority amid an increase in support for liberals, the Greens and nationalists.
- Ethiopia's foreign ministry has apologised after a map of Africa on its website incorporated neighbouring Somalia within its own borders.
- Australia's Labor opposition has chosen Anthony Albanese as its new leader after the party suffered an upset in the nation's general election.
- The centre-right European People's Party (EPP) and the centre-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D) are set to remain the two largest blocs, but have lost seats to the centre, left and nationalist right.
- Fighting at a prison in northern Brazil has left 15 inmates dead, according to local officials. The clashes reportedly broke out during visiting hours at Anísio Jobim Penitentiary Complex, in Manaus.
- The funeral has been held for Wilmer Josué Ramírez, a migrant boy aged two and a half, who died after being held in US custody with his mother.
- US President Donald Trump has become the first foreign leader to meet Japan's Emperor Naruhito.
- Separate teams raided whereabouts of the suspected terrorists in D G Khan and Sialkot and arrested 3 terrorists. It arrested an active member of ISIS, Mohammad Sadaqat, in D G Khan.
- Deaths have been attributed primarily to a long queue of both ascending and descending climbers, forcing many to wait for hours at 8,000 metres plus altitudes.
- The thick walls surrounding the palace had intricately painted pictures of Baba Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism; as well as of various Hindu rulers and princes.
- India and Pakistan had on March [latex]19^{th}[/latex] held a meeting of technical experts on the Kartarpur corridor during which its alignment, coordinates and other engineering aspects of the proposed crossing points were discussed.
- The five member committee will undertake an “indepth” enquiry into the reasons behind the defeat of the Congress candidates in the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi.
- Day after Narendra Modi takes oath as prime minister of the country for a second term, of the first Parliament session are expected to be finalised.
- Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for ED, said the trail court "completely missed the gravity" of the offence."
- New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi recalled the contribution of former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru in nation building on his 55th death anniversary.
- The BJP-led Union government wanted to involve the separatists in the Kashmir Valley in a dialogue process but on the condition that the latter acknowledged it publicly, a top government official told.
- Bitcoin is up almost 70% this month despite concerns from JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategists that its price may have surged beyond its “intrinsic value” a concept that not all agree applies to a digital currency.
- The US on May 17 blacklisted Huawei which it accuses of aiding Beijing in espionage -- and cut it off from the US software and components it needs to make its products. The ban hamstrings the world’s largest provider of networking gear and No. 2 smartphone vendor.
- The market is witnessing a board-based rally expecting better outlook for the economy in the next one-two quarter, experts said.
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cut the repo rate (the interest rate at which it provides liquidity to banks to overcome short-term mismatches) twice in the current calendar year February and April by 25 basis points each. Currently, it stands at 6 per cent.
- Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova has withdrawn from the French Open 2019 due to a forearm injury.
- Swiss tennis player Roger Federer made a winning return to the French Open after he beat Lorenzo Sonego in straight sets on.
- India's Apurvi Chandela won her second International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup gold medal this year in Germany.
- Professor Balram Bhargava after jointly winning the 2019 Dr Lee Jong-wook Memorial Prize for Public Health at the 72nd World Health Assembly in Geneva earlier this week.
- Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister Peter O’Neill has resigned following a series of high-level defections from his government to the opposition.
- Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar has resigned from his post after losing to Bollywood actor and BJP candidate Sunny Deol from Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat.
- Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) president Prem Singh Tamang took oath as the Chief Minister of Sikkim.
- Anuj Sharma, who is currently posted as ADG & IGP Operation, has been appointed once again as the Commissioner of Police, Kolkata.
- Actor Ajay Devgn's father, veteran action director Veeru Devgan, passed away morning after reportedly suffering a cardiac arrest. He was admitted to a hospital in Mumbai this morning after he complained of breathlessness.
1. International News
- US President Donald Trump has dismissed concerns about recent North Korean missile tests, appearing to contradict his own national security adviser.
- Michael Gove has said he will enter the race for Tory leader, challenging his former Vote Leave ally Boris Johnson.
- Voting is under way on the final day of elections for the European Parliament, with nationalists mounting a challenge to pro-EU parties.
- The German government's anti-Semitism commissioner has urged Jews to avoid wearing skullcaps in public.
- An international tribunal has ordered Russia to "immediately" release 24 Ukrainian sailors and three naval ships it seized off Crimea in November.
- Thousands of Israelis gathered for a mass rally against moves to grant Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immunity from prosecution.
- Representatives of Venezuela's government and opposition are returning to Norway's capital, Oslo, for talks on how to address the political crisis.
- Modi had picked Bhutan for his first foreign trip after becoming prime minister for the first time in 2014. PM Modi choosing Bhutan was seen as signal that South Asia was the topmost foreign policy priority for him.
- German national Friederike Irina Bruning, had threatened to return her Padma Shri after her application for visa extension for further stay in India has has been rejected.
- Hoping for an inclusive and peaceful new India, the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI), a body representing 19.9 million Catholics and the largest bishops’ conference in Asia, has congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP and party president Amit Shah on their emphatic election victory.
- The AJSU Party won the lone Giridih seat with its candidate and Jharkhand Water Resources Minister Chandraprakash Choudhary beating JMMs Jagarnath Mahato by 2,48,347 votes.
- Of the total winners in 2019, 233 parliamentarians (43%) have declared criminal cases against them as compared to 185 (34%) in the Lok Sabha elected in 2014 and 162 (30 per cent) in 2009, say the findings based on the scrutiny of affidavits of 539 MPs.
- The tech ban caps months of US effort to isolate Huawei, whose equipment Washington fears could be used as a Trojan horse by Chinese intelligence services.
- RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan and former chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian had expressed doubts over India’s revised economic growth data.
- Pakistan this month secured a $6 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund to help avert a balance-of-payments crisis following high fiscal and current-account deficits and dwindling foreign exchange reserves.
- The downtrend in air passenger traffic might continue unless the new government takes steps to reduce air fares via rationalisation of jet fuel taxes and infrastructure creation to spur capacity at major airports.
- Neeraj Phogat won gold in the 57kg category at the India Open, with unexpected wins against two big names—Sonia Chahal and Manisha Moun—both of whom had excelled at the World Boxing Championships at home in November.
- Barcelona wanted a trophy to ease their Champions League heartache but instead fell to another shock defeat as Valencia pulled off a thrilling 2-1 victory to win the Copa del Rey.
- Mumbai based contemporary artist Nalini Malani became the first Indian to be awarded with 7 Joan Miro Prize 2019.
- South Korean director Bong Joon-ho has won the Cannes film festival's most prestigious award.
- A total of 724 women candidates contested from across the country with Congress fielding the maximum women at 54 followed closely by BJP at 53.
- United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced the appointment of Lieutenant General Shailesh Tinaikar of India as his new Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
- The Collegium in its resolution of March 2019, recommended judge of Jharkhand High Court, DN Patel as chief justice of Delhi HC.
- Australian scientists have discovered gold-coated fungi near Boddington in Western Australia. The thread-like fungi attach gold to their strands by dissolving and precipitating particles from their surroundings, in a process that could offer clues for finding new gold deposits.
1. Important Days
- International Missing Children’s Day is celebrated on May [latex]25^{th}[/latex], the same day as the United States’ National Missing Children’s Day designated by Ronald Reagan in 1983.
- The Dutch centre-left Labour party is toasting an “unexpected comeback” in European elections. The results will not come out until late in common with the rest of the EU, but the Dutch Labour party are celebrating what they claim as victory based on exit polls they have seen.
- US President Donald Trump is clearing the sale of billions of dollars’ worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia, citing Iranian threats to its arch rival.
- The race to become the next Conservative Party leader has begun, following Theresa May’s announcement that she will step down next month.
- With one iconic swim spot getting a much-debated upgrade, Gary Nunn revisits how the city’s pool culture came about.
- The second Urban 20 (U20) Mayors summit was held in Tokyo, the capital city of Japan from May [latex]20^{th}[/latex] to May [latex]22^{th}[/latex], 2019. The themes of the summit were Climate Action, Circular Economy, Social Inclusion and Integration, Sustainable Economic Growth and Gender Equality.
- Curfew continued in parts of Kashmir for a second day Saturday following killing of Zakir Musa, the so-called chief of an Al-Qaeda afiliated group, in an encounter with security forces in Pulwama district.
- Jammu-Srinagar National Highway in Ramban district in the wee hours of leading to suspension of traffic on the only road linking Kashmir with rest of the country, officials said.
- An earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter Scale shook Andaman Islands region in the wee hours of Saturday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
- The BJP has won 41 seats in the 60-member Arunachal Pradesh Assembly after results of all the constituencies were announced, an election official said.
- The Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) ‘Shaurya’ and the 3 (Naga Hills) Battalion of the Assam Ries has signed an ‘Aliation Charter’ at Laitkor in Shillong.
- The Border Personnel Meet (BPM) between the armies of India and China was held in Eastern Ladakh sector of Jammu and Kashmir at the Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) – TWT Meeting Point.
- 5 Smart Cities India 2019 Expo including Transport India, Solar India, Buildings India and Water India expos was inaugurated by Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Aairs (MoHUA), Government of India at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
- A government-appointed high-level panel has suggested for issuance of ‘Elephant Bonds’ for infrastructure projects and people who are declaring undisclosed income will have to mandatorily invest half of that amount in these securities.
- In the backdrop of the liquidity issues being faced by non-banking finance companies, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a draft circular on ‘Liquidity Risk Management Framework’.
- Corporation Bank has launched ‘Corp SME Suvidha’, a product for GST-registered MSMEs. A press release said that the product has been designed as part of the bank’s efforts to provide best products to MSME sector.
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) permitted the modern Currency Chests (CC) to hike service charges on the cash deposited by non-chest bank branches from Rs.5 per packet of 100 pieces to a higher rate subject to a maximum of Rs.8 per packet.
- The import of oil has been stopped from Iran by India after American waivers granted to eight buyers expired at the start of May 2019.
- Asian Games gold medalist Amit Panghal thwarted a spirited challenge from giant killer Sachin Siwach with a well-calculated display to clinch the gold by a split 4-1 verdict in the highly-competitive 52kg men’s category.
- Vaishnavi was signed by Pensacola State College to play for their team, Lady Pirates, in the National Junior College Athletic AssociationDivision 1, Region 8.
- 26-year-old Satara-based mountaineer, Priyanka Mohite, successfully climbed world’s fth highest peak, Mount Makalu (8,481 metres).
- The UN (United Nations) Dag Hammarskjold Medal will be awarded posthumously to Indian Police Ocer Jitender Kumar during the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, on May 29 at the UN headquarters in New York.
- Four new judges were sworn in on May 24th at the Supreme Court, two of whom will go on to be the Chief Justices of India in the line of seniority.
- India’s second largest tractor manufacturer by volumes, Tractors and Farm Equipment Ltd (TAFE) has roped in Bollywood Actor Akshay Kumar as its brand ambassador for the Massey Ferguson brand.
1. International News
- US President Donald Trump has ordered US intelligence agencies to co-operate with an investigation into whether he was spied on during the 2016 election.
- EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker says the EU "failed" by not getting involved in the UK's 2016 referendum, won by the pro-Brexit camp.
- US President Donald Trump has said Huawei could be part of a trade deal between the US and China, despite branding the telecoms firm "very dangerous".
- Uganda’s capital Kampala has passed a law to ban giving money or food to children living on the streets.
- Fifty children have been rescued and nine people arrested after an Interpol investigation into an international paedophile ring.M
- In the first such move to bring in uniform standards of patient care to battle cancer, the National Health Authority (NHA) and National Cancer Grid (NCG) have signed an MoU under the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).
- Former Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar approached the Supreme Court fearing his imminent arrest by the CBI in connection with the Saradha scam probe.
- Indian envoy rules out talks with Pakistan unless it stops supporting terror. Ties between India and Pakistan hit a new low after the Pulwama terror attack.
- The Enforcement Directorate moved the Delhi High Court seeking cancellation of anticipatory bail granted to Robert Vadra in a money laundering case.
- The NDA had won 352 Seats. It was the first time in more than three decades that a single party won majority on its own.
- With his clean sweep of both the Lok Sabha and assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has gained a special status in national politics.
- The BJP, which could not gain much in the Lok Sabha election in Kashmir, managed to get 86% of votes cast by migrants in the three constituencies of the Valley.
- The Lok Sabha poll results were a disaster for Om Prakash Chautala’s Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and its breakaway Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), as except for Dushyant Chautala, all their candidates lost deposits.
- Corporation Bank has launched ‘Corp SME Suvidha’, a product for GST-registered MSMEs. A press release said that the product has been designed as part of the bank's efforts to provide best products to MSME sector.
- Global financial services firm UBS Securities, in a report, has stated that while many investors are concerned about the ongoing financial tightness led by the NBFC sector and its impact on discretionary consumption that could further slow down the overall economic growth, it is not a “systemic risk”.
- The Reserve Bank of India, said it will allow large modern currency chests to increase the service charges on cash deposited by non-chest bank branches from the existing rate of ₹5 per packet of 100 pieces to a higher rate subject to a maximum of ₹8 per packet.
- World champion Mary Kom overcame some stiff resistance to beat promising Nikhat Zareen in a split decision to enter the women’s 51kg category final.
- Bhawana Kanth, was one among the first batch of women ghter pilots of the IAF, who joined in July 2016. She flew the first solo on MiG-21 Bison in March 2018.
- N. Chandrababu Naidu, who has a few records, including being the longest serving Chief Minister in Andhra Pradesh, finds himself at the crossroads as his Telugu Desam Party (TDP) faced a rout in the Assembly as well as Lok Sabha polls
- Theresa May has said she will quit as Conservative leader on 7 June, paving the way for a contest to decide a new prime minister.
- A Falcon-9 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida late, packed with 60 satellites capable of giving users on the ground high-speed connections to the internet.
- Seventh King of Malaysia Sultan Ahmad Shah Sultan Abu Bakar passed away at the age of 88 in National Heart Institute, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
1. Important Days
- The purpose of World Turtle Day, May [latex]23^{rd}[/latex], sponsored yearly since 2000 by American Tortoise Rescue, is to bring attention to, and increase knowledge of and respect for, turtles and tortoises, and encourage human action to help them survive and thrive.
- China must prepare for difficult times as the international situation is increasingly complex, President Xi Jinping said in comments carried by state media, as the U.S.-China trade war took a mounting toll on tech giant Huawei.
- The US announced a $150 hike in fees for processing student visa, up from the current $200 to $350, marking a 75% rise that will make US education even costlier for applicants and hopefuls, many of whom come from India.
- Voters are heading to the polls for the European Parliament elections. Seventy-three members, known as MEPs, will be elected in nine constituencies in England, and one each in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- El Salvador died in US custody last year, a previously unreported case that brings to six the number of migrant children known to have died after being detained by border authorities in eight months.
- Ten people have been killed and three injured in a shootout between suspected gang members near the town of Uruapán in western Mexico.
- Congress took a dig at External Affairs Minister Sushma Swarajand her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s photos at they sat next to each other during a joint call on Kyrgyz president.
- Pakistani media reported that two leaders sat next to each other during a multilateral meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
- The Supreme Court restrained West Bengal police from taking any coercive action against Arjun Singh, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from the Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency, who is facing several criminal cases.
- Several districts in central, east and peninsular India are staring at extreme arid conditions after the India Meteorological Department last week predicted 22% deficiency in pre-monsoon showers between March and May.
- The YSR Congress appeared on course for a overwhelming victory in Andhra Pradesh with its candidates leading in 150 seats, dealing a knockout blow to the Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party.
- During the five-year-term, efforts were made to take schemes to the poor in a transparent manner, decisions were taken in national interest, said the BJP leader.
- Making a near clean sweep in the Lok Sabha election, the opposition DMK is on the road to win 37 of the 38 parliamentary constituencies for which elections were held as counting continued across the country.
- BJP set to return to power, its parliamentary board is expected to meet evening at the party headquarters where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to make a speech.
- The benchmark BSE Sensex erased early gains to end 299 points lower as investors booked profits after stocks soared to record highs after BJP’s strong showing in the Lok Sabha polls.
- Canara Bank has marked its official presence on two social-media platforms – Facebook and Instagram. The bank, launched the official Facebook (@canarabankglobal) and Instagram (@canarabankinsta) pages.
- The value of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions in financial year 2018-19 may have jumped eight times at ₹8.76-lakh crore from ₹1.09-lakh crore in FY18, but it has a long way to go to overtake the number of card transactions in India.
- Pakistan’s Nida Dar smashed a 20-ball fifty against South Africa in the fourth T20I to register the second fastest fifty in women’s T20Is.
- Omani author Jokha Alharthi has won this year’s Man Booker International Prize – the first Arabic writer to do so.
- Lyon striker Ada Hegerberg has been voted the BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year 2019. The award, voted for by fans across the world, comes four days after she scored a hat-trick in the Champions League final as her side lifted the trophy.
- Former PepsiCo chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi was presented with an honorary degree by the prestigious Yale University
- Big Bash League (BBL) franchise Melbourne Stars appointed former Australian batsman David Hussey as their men’s team head coach.
- Ruskin Bond, on his 85 birthday launched new memoir titled “Coming Round the Mountain”. India’s beloved children’s author socially released the book at Cambridge bookstores in Mussourie, Uttarakhand.
- Prize-winning Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina has died in Nairobi after a short illness at the age of 48.
1. Important Days
- 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 world's biggest footwear firms are urging Donald Trump to end the US trade war with China, warning of a "catastrophic" effect on consumers.
- Five Catalan separatist politicians - currently on trial accused of rebellion - have taken their seats in the Spanish parliament under discreet police guard.
- British expats in France might not get a vote in European elections because their postal voting forms have arrived late, or not at all.
- The corruption trial of Argentina's former president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, has begun in Buenos Aires.
- Six people have been killed and 200 injured during mass rallies against the re-election of Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
- 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 UN envoy for Libya has warned that the battle for Tripoli is “just the start of a long and bloody war”.
- 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.
- 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.
- Germany will do everything to save the nuclear deal with Iran, the new German Ambassador to India, Walter J. Lindner, told The Hindu.
- The Jammu and Kashmir government is planning to conserve filatures of the silk factory or Resham Khana, which have remained defunct for the past three decades, to revive cultural tourism and showcase the state’s glorious past.
- Sushma Swaraj said that India is open to regional connectivity initiatives that are “inclusive, sustainable, transparent and respect the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity”
- A medium intensity earthquake of magnitude 5.8 hit the Andaman and Nicobar islands.
- Two militants belonging to the Hizbul Mujahideen were killed by security forces after a gun battle in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam, police said.
- 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).
- The Supreme Court, in March, had appointed a three-member mediation panel to resolve the age-old Ayodhya dispute within eight weeks.
- 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.
- Politicians may come and go, but the Centre’s bureaucratic machine remains to smooth the transition for the incoming Council of Ministers.
- 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.
- 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.
- The zealous cow protection drive, crackdown on slaughterhouses, and lynching of Muslims on the mere suspicion that they possessed beef had broken the symbiotic relationship between Hindus and Muslims
- The election commission decided by a 2:1 majority that all minority decisions or dissenting views will not be made part of the final orders to be issued in cases pertaining to violation of the model code of conduct.
- The Supreme Court granted protection from arrest till May [latex]28^{th}[/latex] to Arjun Singh, the BJP candidate from Barrackpore constituency in West Bengal, in criminal cases lodged against him by the state police.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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)
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- India’ ambitious moon mission Chandrayaan 2 will be launched after July 9th, Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman Dr. K Sivan said of the mission that missed an earlier launch window in January.
- 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.
- 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.
1. Important Days
- The University Grants Commission (UGC) has directed varsities and higher educational institutions to observe May [latex]21^{st}[/latex] as Anti-Terrorism day to wean away the youth from terrorism.
- The White House has told a former adviser not to testify about Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, sparking outrage from Democrats.
- The man accused of killing 51 people in the Christchurch mosques attack has been charged with terrorism, New Zealand police have said.
- Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei has remained defiant towards US moves against his company, saying the US "underestimates" its abilities.
- North Korea denounced the United States as “a gangster country” for seizing one of its cargo ships and urged U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to take “urgent measures” to contribute to stabilizing the Korean peninsula.
- “Peace to Prosperity” workshop, it is expected to “will facilitate discussions on an ambitious, achievable vision and framework for a prosperous future for the Palestinian people and the region”.
- Malawians are going to the polls to elect a new president in what has been described as one of the country’s most unpredictable elections.
- All ministers from Austria’s far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) are resigning, throwing the government into chaos.
- The fleet of ships and aircraft were on the lookout for a Pakistani boat suspected to be carrying narcotics. Intelligence pointed to a Pakistani boat would sneak into Indian waters to land the contraband.
- Telangana’s Karimnagar district has come up with a scheme to offer funeral services at a cost of just one rupee to help poor families perform the last rites for their loved ones.
- Train services in the Eastern Railway’s Sealdah division were disrupted for the second day owing to a rail blockade by protesters at Kankinara, as clashes continued between the TMC and the BJP supporters in Bhatpara, where assembly by poll was held.
- Speaking to ANI, the priest of the temple Yugal Kishor said: “This is the third time we have organised an Iftar party. I will continue to do the same in the future as well. We should celebrate every festival with great zeal.”
- The Kumbh 2019 visitors included 10.30 lakh foreign tourists. The Maha Kumbh Mela held in 2013 had seen 7.86 crore pilgrims, including 3.50 lakh foreign tourists, arriving here.
- The Supreme Court will hear the Centre’s plea against Delhi high court’s recent order that put on hold a government notification to make the 2016 black money law operational with retrospective effect from July 2015 to book and probe offenders.
- The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) asked the Election Commission to provide additional security at a counting centre in South Delhi, alleging that its “political opponents” have plans to manipulate electronic voting machines ahead of March [latex]23^{rd}[/latex], when the election results are declared.
- Election Commission of India (ECI) ordered re-polling at one polling booth of Amritsar Parliamentary constituency on May [latex]22^{nd}[/latex], due to negligence during the polling process.
- Pranab Mukherjee lauded the Election Commission conducting the 2019 national elections “perfectly”, the former President walked right into the ongoing controversy between the opposition and the government over reports of alleged tampering of voting machines.
- Tripura Gramin Bank is among India’s top three Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) in terms of profit, business and growth.
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has kickstarted the process of holding structured meetings with their statutory central auditors (SCAs) at the end of every quarter.
- The private sector lender, in a regulatory filing, said it has entered into an agreement with the BSE and India International Exchange (INX) for the proposed investment in the exchange.
- Sonia Lather (57kg), the 2016 World Championships silver medallist, and Asian Championships bronze medallist Manisha Moun (57kg) led the charge in the women’s section.
- Joginder Singh Salaria, founder of PCT Humanity, said the efforts were in continuation to the vegetarian iftar held daily at the premises of his company Pehal International, Dubai Industrial Park.
- National Cadet Corps girls mountaineering expedition team of 20 from Sikkim was flagged off to Mt Tenchenkhang, situated in Western Sikkim.
- 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.
- Australian PM Scott Morrison’s Liberal-National Coalition won federal elections over the opposition Labor Party. The polling was held for 151 seats in the House of Representatives.
- Joko Widodo has been re-elected as Indonesia’s president after last month’s vote, beating former general Prabowo Subianto.
- Pakistan appointed career diplomat Moin-ul-Haque as the High Commissioner to India. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan approved appointments of over two dozen ambassadors in various countries including India, China and Japan.
- Scientists believe that global sea levels could rise far more than predicted, due to accelerating melting in Greenland and Antarctica.
- The world’s most mysterious 600-year old manuscript named ‘Voynich Manuscript’ was finally deciphered by Bristol academician Dr. Gerard Cheshire and it took him just 2 weeks.
- Shivappa Shetty, former FIFA Panel Referee passed away aged 86 due to multi-organ failure. All India Football Federation (AIFF) expressed the condolences on his death.
- Three-time Formula 1 world champion Niki Lauda has died at the age of 70, nine months after undergoing a lung transplant.
1. Important Days
- World Metrology Day is an event occurring on the [latex]20^{th}[/latex]of May celebrating the International System of Units.
- Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn donned a ‘patka’ and served food during ‘langar’ at the Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara in Southall on Sunday as part of campaigning for the May 23 elections to the European Parliament, and reiterated promises to the Sikh community.
- Under Harris’ proposal, which would require approval by the US Congress, companies with 100 or more employees would give their pay data to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
- Swedish authorities issued a request for a detention order against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is now jailed in Britain, a Swedish prosecutor said.
- Robert F. Smith, who is black, is the Founder and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, a private equity firm that invests in software, data, and technology-driven companies.
- US President Donald Trump has issued a stern warning to Iran, suggesting it will be destroyed if a conflict breaks out between the two countries.
- At least 14 people were injured after a roadside explosion targeted a tourist bus, carrying 25 South African citizens, close to Egypt’s Giza Pyramids, state media reported.
- Union finance minister Arun Jaitley said exit polls signalled “a huge maturing of Indian democracy”.
- A rape case was filed by the victim against MLA Dhananjoy Tripura, legislator of the ruling Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura, at Mandwai police station in West Tripura district.
- The makers of Vivek Oberoi-starrer biopic on the Prime Minister have said the film will be released on May 24, a day after the results of the Lok Sabha elections are to be declared.
- National carrier Air India, which had commenced direct services from Mumbai to New York’s John F Kennedy airport in December 2018, has decided to discontinue the flights, reportedly owing to poor demand.
- Singapore-bound flight of a private carrier, which took off from Tiruchirapalli, made an emergency landing at the Chennai airport following a ‘spark’ in the engine, officials said.
- About 64.15 per cent people – 1 percent more than 2014 – cast their votes in the seventh and the last phase of elections, held on 59 seats across eight states.
- Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Minister Om Prakash Rajbhar welcomed the decision by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to sack him as an Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Minister and said the decision was delayed.
- Lok Sabha elections 2019 live updates: Day after final and seventh phase of voting in Lok Sabha elections 2019, Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu will be meeting his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee to hold post-poll talks in Kolkata.
- Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor rejected the predictions of exit polls and said that he will wait till May 23 for the “real results”.
- According to Venkatesh Natarajan, Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer, Ashok Leyland, the company is open to Musk for a partnership to finally let Indians experience his path-breaking autonomous Tesla electric cars.
- After soaring over 962 in early session, the 30-share index pared some gains and was trading 687.63 points, or 1.81 per cent, higher at 38,618.40.
- Benchmark Sensex zoomed over 1,422 points and the NSE Nifty surged 421 points after most exit polls showed that the Narendra Modi-led NDA is returning to power with a thumping majority in the Lok Sabha elections.
- Nadal defeated world number one Novak Djokovic 6-0, 4-6, 6-1 for a record 34rd Masters, leaving his vanquished foe to label the Spaniard as “the number one favourite for Roland Garros”.
- The rest of us would struggle with a regular 3×3 Rubik’s cube a 20-year-old Mumbai resident has set a new Guinness world record by solving the maximum number of pyraminx (pyramid-shaped Rubik’s cubes) underwater.
- Comedian-actor Kapil Sharma has been acknowledged as the most viewed stand-up comedian in India and abroad by the World book of Records London.
- Ukrainian comedian Volodymyr Zelensky will formally become the country’s new president at a ceremony in the capital, Kiev.
- Last month, a spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station carrying, among other cargo, small cube-shaped robots called Astrobees.
1. International News
- Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is edging closer to a majority government as the election's final results are being counted.
- Theresa May has said a "new and improved" Brexit deal will be put to MPs when they vote on the EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill in early June.
- US President Donald Trump has outlined his "strongly pro-life" views on abortion amid controversy over strict new laws passed in several states.
- Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has hailed the contribution of the Indian and Asian communities to charity, thanking and honouring several organisations for their work in the UK and elsewhere at an event.
- Boeing acknowledged it had to correct flaws in its 737 MAX flight simulator software used to train pilots, after two deadly crashes involving the aircraft that killed 346 people.
- A team of police from Nagaland left for New Delhi after an arrested gangster from Haryana claimed to have received money to kill a senior politician from the northeastern state.
- Private security guards of jailed RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s elder son Tej Pratap Yadav on Sunday roughed-up a cameraperson while he was covering Yadav at a polling booth. Yadav later alleged that the entire incident was a conspiracy to ‘murder him’.
- The southwest monsoon, critical for India’s economy, finally arrived in Nicobar islands with conditions favourable for its further advancement, said India Meteorological Department (IMD) in a statement issued.
- A 24-year-old Rohingya from Myanmar was arrested from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport for allegedly procuring a fake Indian passport and an Aadhaar card to travel to Indonesia from the national capital.
- Assembly Election Exit Polls 2019 LIVE Updates: Exit polls are based on responses of the people who have cast their votes. Pollsters predict the results much before the actual counting of votes.
- Andhra Pradesh chief minister and TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday met Sonia Gandhi and also held a second round of talks with top opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Sharad Pawar, in an apparent bid to rally support for a non-BJP government at the Centre.
- The world’s highest polling station at 15,256 feet, Tashiganag village in Himachal Pradesh, took little than two hours to climb up to 53 per cent voting, a state electoral officer said.
- Nearly 41.41% voters cast their votes in the first few hours of polling in the final round of the seven-phase elections, which began on April [latex]11^{th}[/latex], for electing the 17th Lok Sabha.
- Manappuram Finance, the Kerala-based gold loan NBFC, is eyeing banks, financial institutions, commercial papers, and public and private NCDs to diversify its funding sources. RuPay, the country’s first and only indigenously-developed card payment system, have been on the rise, especially in the last four years, on the back of various digital initiatives taken by the government.
- Germany’s Double Olympic biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier announced the retirement at the age of 25 after struggling with health issues.
- The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, felicitated Legacy Accelerators, Antano and Harini with the ‘Award for Honour’
- One of the paintings of 1890 named ‘Mueles’ (Grainstacks) of Claude Monet was sold for a record breaking price of $110.7 million (Rs.778 crore) at Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale. It became the ninth most expensive work ever sold in the auction.
- Child actor, Sunny Pawar aged 11, won the Best Child Actor Award for his performance in ‘Chippa’ at the 19th New York Indian Film Festival. He hails from a slum in Kunchi Kurve Nagar in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
- 19 year old Indian YouTuber, Ajey Nagar is named among the Top 10 ‘Next Generation Leaders 2019’ by Time Magazine.
- The Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, announced the appointment of Radha Venkataraman as the next High Commissioner of India to the Kingdom of Eswatini.
- Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli and emerging wicket-keeper & batsman, Rishabh Pant have been officially roped in as the brand ambassadors for Himalaya MEN Face Care Range by The Himalaya Drug Company.
- The Website of the Lokpal was inaugurated by the Chairperson, Justice Shri Pinaki Chandra Ghose. His oath was administered by President Ram Nath Kovind. All the Members of Lokpal attended it.
- Naik Narayan Singh, one among the 18 member of Indian Army Mountaineering Expedition team to Mt Makalu (8485m) passed away recently.
- Veteran Telugu actor Rallapalli Venkata Narasimha Rao passed away at the age of 74 in Hyderabad. He had also worked as a staff artist in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
1. Important Days
- International Museum Day is celebrated annually on May [latex]18^{th}[/latex] to raise awareness about the importance of museums as “means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among peoples.
- To raise awareness of the continued need for a vaccine there is a day set aside every year that is known as HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, or World Aids Day. it is held every year on May [latex]18^{th}[/latex].
- Counting is under way in Australia in one of the most closely fought general elections in years. Early exit polls suggested a narrow victory for the opposition Labor Party, but early counting puts the incumbent Liberal coalition ahead.
- An athletics team doctor sexually abused at least 177 male students from 1979 to 1997, an investigation by Ohio State University in the US says.
- A new Offensive Weapons Bill aimed at tackling rising knife crime in the UK completed its journey through Parliament to become an act of law after receiving the Royal Assent of Queen Elizabeth II this week.
- USD 38 million by the UN for peacekeeping operations, has voiced concern over the “unjustifiable and inexplicable” delays in reimbursement to countries providing peacekeeping troops and police for UN missions.
- River Clyde in the town of Port Glasgow has been designated as the first official spot in Scotland where, instead of travelling to towns along the Ganga, Hindus can scatter ashes as part of rituals after funerals.
- The Defence Ministry rejected the plea of Vice Admiral Bimal Verma, who had challenged the appointment of Vice Admiral Karambir Singh as the next Chief of the Indian Navy.
- Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi lashed out at BJP’s candidiate for the Bhopal Lok Sabha seat Pragya Singh Thakur for her comments that Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse, was a patriot.
- If Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has his way, there would be no ceremonial police parades, cultural extravaganza by school children and shows during the Independence Day, Republic Day and state formation day from now on.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered prayers at the Kedarnath shrine in Uttarakhand, on Saturday, days before the counting for the Lok Sabha elections.
- Google dedicated a creative and special doodle to Persian mathematician Omar Khayyam on his 971st birthday.
- The Election Commission of India announced re-polling in two more polling stations in Chandragiri under the Chittoor Lok Sabha constituency of Andhra Pradesh.
- Academics, professionals return to Bengal to campaign for BJP. All those who came to Bengal told locals that BJP-ruled states have progressed a lot, thanks to appropriate policies and vision.
- Election commissioner Ashok Lavasa, who has recused himself from meetings where decisions pertaining to the model code of conduct are decided, wrote at least three letters to Chief election commissioner Sunil Arora to accept his demand for including minority decisions in the poll body’s final orders.
- EC restrains Kamal Haasan from campaigning, he says it is a political move. Haasan has been under fire ever since he said that free India’s first terrorist was a Hindu.
- Public sector lender Corporation Bank said its loss widened to Rs 6,581.49 crore during the fourth quarter ended March [latex]31^{st}[/latex], mainly due to higher provisioning for bad loans.
- SBI Card, the country’s second-largest credit card issuer, increased its card acquisition rate to three lakh cards per month from one lakh cards per month in December 2016, said Hardayal Prasad, MD and CEO, SBI Card.
- Defending champion Brooks Koepka completed the lowest 36-hole showing in major golf history to seize a record seven-stroke lead after two rounds of the PGA Championship while Tiger Woods missed the cut.
- The Indian men’s hockey team ended its tour Down Under with a 2-5 loss to world no.2 Australia in the fifth and final match at Perth.
- Odisha-born IAS officer and Additional Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India, Dr. Pramod Kumar Mishra was conferred with the prestigious United Nations Sasakawa Award for Disaster Risk Reduction for the year 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland.
- A mechanical engineer from Jiwaji University, Gwalior, Mr. Kulkarni joined NTPC in 1982 as an executive trainee. Later, Mr. Kulkarni completed MBA (Finance), IPMA Level D certificate, MCA and Ph. D.
- Ujjivan Small Finance Bank has appointed Nitin Chugh as its Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for a period of 3 years from December [latex]1^{st}[/latex], 2019.
- Jeffrey Rosen was confirmed as the United States’ latest deputy attorney general by the US Senate after his predecessor, Rod Rosenstein, left the department.
1. Important Days
- World Hypertension Day is a day designated and initiated by The World Hypertension League (WHL), which is itself an umbrella to organizations of 85 national hypertension societies and leagues. The day was initiated to increase the awareness of hypertension.
- World Telecommunication Day has been celebrated annually on [latex]17^{th}[/latex] May since 1969, marking the founding of ITU and the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention in 1865.
- US President Donald Trump has said he does not want a war with Iran amid rising tensions between the two countries, according to senior officials.
- Poland has announced plans to double jail terms for paedophiles after a documentary on priest sex abuse sparked outrage in the country.
- Brazil's mining firm Vale has warned that another dam is at risk of bursting months after the collapse of a similar structure killed more than 230 people.
- Norway has attempted to facilitate high-level talks between Venezuela's government and political opposition, both sides have said.
- Taiwan's parliament has become the first in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage following a vote. Parliament was given a two-year deadline and was required to pass the changes by [latex]24^{th}[/latex] May.
- China has threatened to retaliate against US sanctions seen as an attempt to restrict international trade by the Chinese technology giant Huawei.
- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached the property of former chief minister of Haryana Om Prakash Chautala worth nearly Rs 2 crore on charges of laundering money.
- Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad likened Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decisions to that of the controversial 14 century Delhi ruler Mohammad Bin Tughlaq.
- Rajasthan High Court issued a notice to the state government seeking its reply on the recent incidents of gang-rape in the state, news agency ANI reported.
- The Supreme Court withdrew its protection from arrest for ex-Kolkata police chief Rajeev Kumar in the Saradha chit fund scam case and gave the controversial police officer 7 days to get anticipatory bail from an appropriate court.
- The entire Kashmir Valley has been put on a three-day alert after Intelligence agencies warned of a possible terror attack on defence installations in the Valley to coincide with the 17th day of Ramzan on May [latex]23^{th}[/latex].
- RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s convoy overturned in an attempt to save a cow standing in the middle of the road near Warora in Chandrapur district, in which one of his security personnel was injured, police said.
- An unidentified miscreant allegedly threatened to kill Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Nand Gopal Gupta aka Nandi if he did not pay a ransom of Rs 5 crore to him.
- Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan will ring the bell at the London Stock Exchange to mark the listing of the ~ 2,150 crore of masala bonds sold by Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIFFB).
- Preparations for hosting the International Day of Yoga, a pet project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, are already underway although there is still a week to go for declaration of the Lok Sabha election results.
- The Central Bureau of Investigation said that it will continue the probe in the Bofors scandal, in which Rs64 crore kickbacks were allegedly paid.
- Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pragya Singh Thakur has courted controversy once again, this time for calling Nathuram Godse, the man who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi, a “deshbhakt” (patriot), and within hours apologised as both the Opposition and the BJP condemned her remark.
- PM Modi and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee sustained their rancorous war of words until the last moment, and the entire Opposition ranged behind the latter.
- The Election Commission decided to conduct re-polling in four booths in north Kerala’s Kannur and Kasargode constituencies following complaints of bogus voting and impersonation.
- Sundaram Finance Holdings Ltd said it clocked over 100 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 32 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2019 The wholly-owned subsidiary of city-based Sundaram Finance Group, recorded net profit at Rs 15 crore in the same period of last fiscal.
- Private sector City Union Bank has recorded net profit at Rs 175.12 crore for the fourth quarter ending March 2019, a 15.1 per cent increase compared to the year ago period at Rs 152.12 crore.
- Paytm and Citi offering their first credit card on the Visa platform is just the latest example of how banks continue to have little faith in RuPay when it comes to the middle- and upper-income segments.
- Nick Kyrgios was defaulted from his second round Italian Open clash against Norway’s Casper Ruud after the hot-headed Australian hurled a chair on to the court.
- Defending champion Brooks Koepka, chasing his fourth victory in eight major starts, opened with a record-equalling low score to grab the lead at the 101st PGA Championship while inconsistent Tiger Woods struggled at Bethpage Black.
- The Council of European Chambers of Commerce (CEUCC) in India and European Union(EU) delegation will felicitate Indian actor Anil Kapoor for promoting Children’s Rights and his effort to protect the rights of girls in collaboration with Plan India and the European Union.
- African National Congress (ANC) won South African elections with majority and secured 57.51 percent votes and Cyril Ramaphosa elected as South African President.
- Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Limited has appointed Nitin Chugh as its next Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) from December [latex]1^{st}[/latex], 2019.
- The Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, has concurrently accredited Ms. Padmaja as the next High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Nauru with residence in Suva.
- Almost a quarter of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet can now be considered unstable, according to a new assessment of 25 years of satellite data.
- IM Pei, the architect behind buildings including the glass pyramid outside the Louvre in Paris, has died aged 102.
1. International News
- US President Donald Trump pardoned former media tycoon Conrad Black, formally forgiving the Hollinger International Inc. founder of a conviction for mail fraud and obstruction of justice.
- The National Thowheed Jama’ath is one of the prime suspects that the Sri Lankan government banned in the immediate aftermath of the eight serial blasts, for which the Islamic State has claimed responsibility.
- Nepal has embraced the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China’s ambitious infrastructure and connectivity project, with great enthusiasm.
- The EU withdrawal agreement has been voted down thrice in the House of Commons, but Prime Minister Theresa May announced night that it will be re-introduced in the week beginning June [latex]3^{th}[/latex], prompting rebels to announce they would vote it down again.
- Sudan towards civilian rule have been suspended for three days by the country's military leaders, who demand protesters clear roadblocks.
- The political leader of the Basque separatist group Eta has been arrested in the French Alps after 17 years on the run, officials say.
- 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.
- Ishwar Chandra Bandyopadhyay (1820-1891), popular as Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, was an educationist, philanthropist, social reformer and a leading figure of the Bengal Renaissance who championed women’s education and widow remarriage in an orthodox Hindu society.
- Three Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) militants, including a top commander who masterminded the 2017 attack on a CRPF camp, a soldier and a civilian were killed in a gunfight on Thursday in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district, police said.
- The CBI withdrew from a Delhi court its application that had sought permission to further probe the politically sensitive Rs 64-crore Bofors payoff case.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati said Modi’s tenure as Gujarat chief minister was a blot on the communal history of the country.
- “The Election Commission’s decision is unfair, unethical and politically biased,” said a furious Mamata Banerjee as she questioned why the poll panel had waited 24 hours to impose the campaign restrictions.
- The residents of Mahadev Dubey village in Maharajganj Lok Sabha constituency have a rather unusual demand from the candidates in the fray.
- The Kerala State Committee of the AIBOC also deplored the tendency to unleash acts of aggression against banks and bank officers on the basis of unsubstantiated facts or events.
- Bank of India Q4 net up at Rs 252 cr, lifted by interest income, decline in provisioning.
- Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate a business conclave to be organised here by Kerala Financial Corporation (KFC), a leading state-run industrial financing institution, The state’s Finance Minister Thomas Isaac will also be attending the event.
- 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.
- UEFA’s financial control body said it had referred Premier League champions Manchester City to an adjudicatory chamber for alleged breaches of financial fair play regulations.
- Ajax Amsterdam clinched the Dutch league title by finishing the season with a 4-1 win at De Graafschap.
- Twice champion Maria Sharapova has withdrawn from the French Open after failing to recover fully from shoulder surgery, the former world number one said.
- 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).
- 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 News Broadcasters Association (NBA) notified that Arjan Kumar Sikri, former Supreme Court judge has been appointed as the chairperson of the News Broadcasting Standards Authority.
- The Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, announced the appointment of Shri Kumar Tuhin (Indian Foreign Service:1991) as the next Ambassador of India to Bosnia & Herzegovina with residence in Budapest.
- The Chinese spacecraft Chang’e-4 named after the moon goddess in Chinese mythology -- became the first ever craft to touch down on the far side of the lunar surface.
- NASA’s Moon orbiting spacecraft has spotted the impact site of the Israeli Beresheet spacecraft on a region of the Moon called “Sea of Serenity” where it crash landed on April[latex] 11^{th}[/latex].
- The moon may be dynamic and tectonically active like Earth - not the inert world some scientists had believed it to be - based on a new analysis disclosed of quakes measured by seismometers in operation on the moon from 1969 and 1977.
- Former Australian prime minister and Labor Party leader Bob Hawke, who dominated the country's politics in the 1980s, has died at the age of 89.
1. Important Days
- International Day Of Families falls on [latex]15^{th}[/latex] May every year and highlights the importance of families as basic units of society.
- San Francisco became the first US city to ban use of facial recognition technology by police or other government agencies.
- The International Bar Association survey based on the online responses of 6,980 attorneys from 135 countries found sexual harassment in the industry is “common” and bullying is “rife.”
- On the deepest dive ever made by a human inside a submarine, an American investor and explorer found something he could have found in the gutter of nearly any street in the world: trash.
- President Donald Trump dismissed as fake news a report that top US national security officials reviewed a plan to deploy 120,000 troops to West Asia if Iran attacked American forces.
- Alabama has become the latest US state to move to restrict abortions by passing a bill to outlaw the procedure in almost all cases.
- In a vast, sparsely populated land like Australia, overseeing an election is a massive logistical effort particularly when you have compulsory voting.
- The Theresa May government said it would take up with Indian authorities cases of alleged persecution of Christians in India, days after a review commissioned by the Foreign Office highlighted several such cases in India.
- Services were briefly delayed on a section of Delhi Metro’s Blue Line after a man allegedly jumped on tracks at Kaushambi station, officials said.
- The BJP staged a silent protest at the Jantar Mantar here to condemn the violence in Kolkata after the alleged attack on the party president Amit Shah’s convoy.
- Paytm engaged consultancy firm EY to conduct the audit of the Paytm Mall, only to find that some sellers were colluding with junior employees to earn cashbacks in fraud of upto 10cr.
- Monsoon rains are likely to enter India through the southern coast on June [latex]6^{th}[/latex], the weather office said, marking the start of the four-month rainy season that is crucial for the country’s farm-dependant economy.
- The Indian Navy will for the first time conduct an entrance exam for engineering graduates seeking to join the service as officers. The first Indian Navy Entrance Test (Officers) will be held in September 2019.
- The Supreme Court pulled up the West Bengal government for delaying the release of the BJP’s youth wing leader Priyanka Sharma, who was jailed for sharing a meme of chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
- Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar pushed aside a microphone, made fists and used an expletive at reporters who questioned him about his “neech” jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
- The Housing and Urban Development department said that Cyclone Fani that hit the Odisha coast on May [latex]3^{rd}[/latex] damaged Rs 525 crore worth of assets.
- The bypoll to the Panaji assembly seat will be held along with the last phase of the ongoing national polls on May [latex]19^{th}[/latex].
- Congress president Rahul Gandhi lashed out at Narendra Modi, saying the Prime Minister thinks “only person can run the country” while actually it is the people who run the nation.
- Union minister Piyush Goyal urged the Election Commission to take strong action against the West Bengal government for the violence during BJP president Amit Shah’s roadshow in Kolkata.
- Housing finance major HDFC Limited has partnered with India Mortgage Guarantee Corporation (IMGC) to offer a mortgage-guaranteed home loan product.
- United Bank of India is exploring all options, including settlement of cases outside of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), to step up recovery efforts.
- Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 (IBC) shifting the balance of power, borrowers are making good the amounts in default to the creditors, and this is getting reflected in slower accretion of new non-performing assets (NPAs) in the Indian banking system, according to Crisil Ratings.
- 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.
- Tiger Woods should be a contender at this week’s PGA Championship and June’s U.S. Open as he chases Jack Nicklaus’ record haul of major titles because of his familiarity with the venues, long time associate Greg McLaughlin has told Reuters.
- India’s all-time top goal-scorer Sunil Chhetri praised Igor Stimac, who has been recently appointed as the new head coach of the Indian national team, saying the Croatian international has a lot of experience and it will all depend on the players.
- Premier League champions Manchester City said they were concerned “individuals intent on damaging” the club may be behind a news report that European football’s financial regulators are poised to recommend they be barred from the Champions League.
- Nepal mountaineer climbs Mount Everest for record 23rd time. Sherpa, 49, reached the summit breaking his own record that he set last year, his expedition company confirmed.
- Croatia’s Igor Stimac appointed Indian football team coach. The national team has been without a coach since the departure of Stephen Constantine in January, following the creditable show at the AFC Asian Cup.
- Former Supreme Court judge, Justice Madan Bhimrao Lokur has been appointed to Supreme Court of Fiji’s non-resident panel for 3 years
- A 51-year old former Indian cricketer GS Lakshmi became the first ever female match referee to be included into the International Cricket Council (ICC)’s International Panel of Match Referees.
- The new Campaign will be directed towards instructing merchants and users about UPI payments along with driving adoption of BharatPe app for all their business needs.
- Yes Bank said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has appointed former Deputy Governor R Gandhi as an additional director on the private lender’s board.
- The Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) successfully conducted the flight test of ABHYAS.
- Southern Europe countries are said to be at the greatest risk from a deadly disease described as a "very serious threat" to the EU's olive industry.
- An American explorer has found plastic waste on the seafloor while breaking the record for the deepest ever dive.
- European satellites have detailed the abrupt change in behaviour of one of Greenland's most important glaciers.
1. International News
- Sri Lankan government has banned three Islamist extremist groups, including the National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ) that carried out the country’s worth terror attack on Easter Sunday in which over 250 people were killed.
- British Prime Minister Theresa May was under pressure from her own party to abandon a bid to find a Brexit compromise with the opposition Labour Party.
- After five years in office, Giorgi Margvelashvili, ex-Soviet Georgia’s fourth president, has also returned to his former life as a politics teacher.
- Mobs slashed to death a Sri Lankan Muslim man despite a nationwide curfew imposed night after anti-Muslim riots spread to three districts north of the capital in a violent backlash against Easter suicide bombings.
- U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran would be making “a very bad mistake” if it did anything against the U.S. The President’s comments came before a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Victor Orban of Hungary, who visited the White House.
- Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the motorcycle bomb blast near a mosque in Quetta.
- Sudanese prosecutors have charged ousted President Omar al-Bashir with involvement in killing protesters and incitement to kill protesters during the uprising that drove him from power last month.
- The Delhi High Court granted three-week parole to Santosh Kumar Singh, who is serving life term for the 1996 rape and murder of law student Priyadarshini Mattoo, to write his LLM examination.
- The powerful Khasi Students Union (KSU) reiterated its demand for the immediate removal of the director of premier super-speciality North East Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Science (NEIGRIHMS) in Meghalaya’s Shillong.
- BJP government had decided to install the tallest statue of Gautam Buddha in UP’s Kushinagar. But undue delay in execution has forced the farmers to demand return of their 600-acre agricultural land.
- The Supreme Court declined to consider Karti Chidambaram’s plea seeking release of his Rs 10 crore deposit, submitted as security for travelling abroad.
- Mani Shankar Aiyar was back in the news with an article justifying his “neech” jibe against Prime Minister Narendra Modi two years ago, prompting the BJP to call him “abuser-in-chief” and his party arrogant.
- Nearly 2.38 lakh students from Himachal Pradesh register for scholarships every year and after cross-checking their record since 2013-14, the entire scam was established.
- A Bengal BJP leader jailed for sharing a meme of Mamata Banerjee should be released on bail, the Supreme Court ordered.
- The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has held Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL)’s Panipat refinery responsible for violating environmental norms and spreading pollution in nearby villages.
- Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, keeping up her attack on Prime Minister Modi said, “Modi government’s ship is sinking,” as the Lok Sabha elections 2019 entered the last lap with phase 7 voting scheduled on May [latex]19^{th}[/latex].
- An Indian-origin woman in the US has been convicted by a jury of killing her nine-year old stepdaughter in 2016 and faces up to life in prison at sentencing.
- Around 190 declared foreigners in detention camps in Assam could be set free, an official said, after the Supreme Court’s order on the conditional release of those who have served three years or more in such centres.
- Odisha Chief Electoral Officer Surendra Kumar said that in view of the prevailing heat wave condition in the state, for the first time, all vote counting halls in the state will be air-conditioned.
- Congress announced the names of candidates for the ensuing bypolls to Telangana Legislative Council. Congress leaders Enagala Venkatram Reddy will be contesting from Warangal, Komatireddy Laxmi from Nalgonda and Uday Mohan Reddy from Ranga Reddy seats respectively.
- The Election Commission has said that fresh polling will take place at a polling station in Haryana's Faridabad parliamentary constituency on May [latex]19^{th}[/latex] which coincides with the seventh phase of Lok Sabha elections.
- Congress star campaigner, Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu is all set to give his home state a miss. The cricketer-turned-politician, who is headed next to Bihar today to address a rally for Shatrughan Sinha.
- DMK President MK Stalin said he saw no chances for a non-BJP, non-Congress “third front” post Lok Sabha polls, but a decision could be taken only after May [latex]23^{th}[/latex], the counting day.
- The benchmark indices, the Sensex and Nifty, ended on a firm note, gaining more than 0.6 per cent on their previous close. The Sensex finished at 37,318, up 227 points or 0.61 per cent firmer, while the Nifty closed at 11,222, up 73 points or 0.66 per cent higher.
- State-owned Indian Bank reported a net loss of Rs 189.77 crore in the fourth quarter of the financial year ended March 2019, as high level of bad loans required substantial amount to be kept as provisioning parking.
- Paytm First Card to offer unlimited 1% cash-back on purchases. In a bid to target new credit customers and expand its monthly active user base, digital wallet major, Paytm, has launched a credit card in partnership with global payments company Citi Bank.
- Andhra Bank has posted a net loss of Rs 1,234 crore in the fourth quarter ended March [latex]31^{st}[/latex], 2019. Compared to a net loss of Rs 2,536 crore in the fourth quarter of 2017-18, the bank’s net loss came down by 51 per cent in the quarter under review, according to a release.
- Rising balance in Jan Dhan accounts spells windfall for banks. The no-frills deposits drive growth in CASA.
- Karnataka Bank registered a net profit of ₹61.73 crore in the fourth quarter of 2018-19, up from ₹11 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, recording a growth of 461.18 per cent.
- The net profit of Muthoot Finance, the largest gold financing company in the country, remained flat at ₹511 crore in Q4 of FY19, compared to ₹508 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
- The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Relays 2019 was held in Nissan Stadium, Yokohama, Japan from May [latex]11^{th}[/latex] to [latex]12^{th}[/latex], 2019.
- Former Premier League side Bolton Wanderers will begin the next League One season with a 12-point penalty after they went into 'administration' as they have been unable to pay £1.2 million in taxes.
- London Olympic bronze medallist Mary Kom is set to make her competitive debut in the 51 kg category at the India Open in Guwahati from May [latex]20^{th}[/latex]-[latex]24^{th}[/latex].
- The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 edition ended on an emphatic fashion at Hyderabad last.
- India captain Virat Kohli bagged the International Cricketer and Batsman of the Year award during the CEAT Cricket Rating (CCR) International awards 2019.
- ITC Managing Director Sanjiv Puri was appointed as Chairman after the demise of Yogesh Chander Deveshwar.
- LIC Mutual Fund appointed Dinesh Pangtey as the company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Pangtey, who joined LIC as a direct recruit officer in 1984.
- Debt-ridden carrier Jet Airways’ Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Deputy Chief Executive Officer Amit Agarwal has resigned from his positions at the airline, the company said in a statement.
- China, which is developing its navy at a feverish pace, has commissioned two more guided missile destroyers taking the total of such warships to 20 with more in the pipeline, state-media reported.
- Hollywood legend Doris Day, whose films made her one of the biggest stars of all time, has died aged 97.
1. International News
- The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) last month celebrated its 70th anniversary in which Indian naval ships, including the indigenously developed missile destroyer, INS Kolkata along with tanker INS Shakti took part in the fleet review held at Qingdao.
- There are demands within the Conservative party that PM Theresa May should call off the talks since, according to the increasingly influential view, they are destined to fail.
- Sweden’s state prosecutor said she would reopen an investigation into a rape allegation against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and seek his extradition from Britain.
- The US should consider breaking up Facebook, according to Kamala Harris, the first Indian-origin Senator and one of the Democrats eyeing the White House in the 2020 presidential race, saying that the world’s largest social media company is “essentially a utility that has gone unregulated”.
- When in 1948 US bombers started dropping tiny, improvised parachutes loaded with sweets into Berlin during the Soviet blockade, one little German girl wrote to complain.
- Pritismita Parida knew better when Cyclone Fani lashed Odisha’s coast at a speed exceeding 250 km per hour bringing the state to its knees on May [latex]3^{th}[/latex].
- The Congress hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remarks that cloud cover could help IAF planes evade Pakistani radars during the Balakot strikes, saying that while “boasting” he “disrespected war strategy” and committed an “unforgivable crime”.
- Pakistan expects to resume talks with India to finalise the agreement on the Kartarpur Corridor once the new government takes charge in New Delhi, according to a Pakistani media report.
- The recent spell of hailstorm in Himachal Pradesh and its nearby areas has battered various vegetables and fruit crops, hampering the income prospects of scores of farmers.
- The Supreme Court agreed to hear the plea of a woman BJP activist challenging her arrest by West Bengal police for allegedly sharing a morphed photo of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on social media.
- Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan came under fire from the BJP after his comment that the first terrorist in free India was a Hindu referring to Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse.
- 63.48 per cent turnout in 6th phase as violence erupts again in Bengal. Uttar Pradesh during the Lok Sabha poll’s sixth and penultimate phase on Sunday in which 63.48 per cent turnout was recorded in 59 seats across seven states. EVM glitches were also reported from a number of states.
- Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav targeted Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over Janata Dal (United)’s election symbol, saying that ‘arrow’ marks violence while RJD symbol ‘lalten’ (lantern) lights up everyone’s life.
- Union minister Arun Jaitley has questioned West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee over the political violence in the eastern state and criticised BSP leader Mayawati over her personal attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
- BJP national president Amit Shah dared West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to arrest him for chanting “Jai Shri Ram”, claiming that the TMC supremo can stop him from attending rallies in Bengal, but won’t be able to stop BJP’s victory march in the state.
- Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd (HDFC) reported a 27 per cent increase in fourth quarter standalone net profit at Rs 2,862 crore against Rs 2,257 crore in the year ago period.
- Former ICICI Bank Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Chanda Kochhar appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with an alleged bank loan fraud and money laundering case registered against her.
- Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) reported a net profit of Rs 201.50 crore for the fourth quarter ended March[latex] 31^{st}[/latex], 2019. Thé public sector lender had reported a net loss of Rs 1,650 crore in the fourth quarter last fiscal.
- HDFC Bank said three start-ups from the city - Loop Reality, BluSapphire and Appnovation Technology - were declared winners at its regional Digital Innovation Summit (DIS).
- A late goal by drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh helped the Indian men’s hockey team salvage a 1-1 draw against Australia ‘A’ at Perth.
- The race to be crowned the English Premier League’s leading scorer this season ended in a three-way tie as the African trio of Sadio Mane, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mohamed Salah shared the Golden Boot.
- Playing in their fifth IPL final, Mumbai Indians defeated Chennai Super Kings by one run on the last ball to clinch their fourth IPL title. With this, Mumbai Indians set the record for winning the most number of Indian Premier League titles.
- 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.
- ITC Managing Director Sanjiv Puri was appointed as Chairman after the demise of Yogesh Chander Deveshwar .
- Ajoy Mehta (1984-batch I.A.S- Indian Administrative Officer), 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.
- Bhojpuri singer, Padma Shri awardee Hiralal Yadav passed away in a private hospital in Varanasi, Uttar pradesh after a prolonged illness.
1. Important Days
- Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society.
- Iran is facing "unprecedented" pressure from international sanctions, President Hassan Rouhani has said.
- Srichand and Gopichand Hinduja have returned as the United Kingdom’s wealthiest in the 2019 Times Rich List, with steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal and family and mining major Anil Agarwal making it to the top 20 richest.
- Mohamed Aliyar, 60, 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.
- A Myanmar National Airlines plane made an emergency landing at Mandalay International Airport, using only its rear wheels after the front landing gear failed to deploy.
- UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said international political resolve was fading and it was the small island nations that were “really in the front line” and would suffer most.
- A 16-year-old girl died in a fire at a building in Mumbai’s Dadar. The incident took place at the Dadar police station compound.
- The opening of the famed Thrissur Pooram festival here was attended by more than 10,000 people after an order disallowing a 54-year-old tusker from taking part in the festivities was reversed.
- Pakistan’s interior ministry has banned 11 organisations under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) for their alleged affiliation with proscribed outfits Jamaatud Dawa (JuD), Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), local media reported.
- Congress President Rahul Gandhi has posted a picture of himself on Instagram which shows him trying to fix a helicopter.
- The bear had climbed a steep mountain ridge after being chased by the people from the nearby village, but fell into a stream after losing balance as stones were thrown at the animal.
- Lok Sabha polls in the national capital, Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshit and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal engaged in friendly banter on Twitter over the former’s health.
- Lok Sabha Elections 2019 phase 6 voting Highlights Delhi is voting alongside 14 seats in Uttar Pradesh, 10 in Haryana, eights each in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal, and four in Jharkhand.
- Facing opposition attack over his caste, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said he was born a backward but he doesn’t do politics on such lines.
- BJP President Amit Shah said Article 370 that gives special powers to Kashmir will be scrapped if Narendra Modi is elected as prime minister again.
- From pork in China to iron ore in Brazil, inflation is flickering in parts of the global economy.
- The Reserve Bank of India proposes to come out with a mobile application to aid visually impaired persons in identifying Indian currency notes.
- Liverpool could throw at them in a titanic title battle, Manchester City will retain their crown with victory at Brighton & Hove Albion.
- The Indian men’s, women’s and mixed 4x400m relay quartets fell way short of the Athletics Federation of India’s (AFI) projected timings in the World Relays, underway in the Japanese city of Yokohama on Saturday, both teams finishing 17th overall.
- Neymar responded to being handed a three-match ban by scoring as champions Paris Saint-Germain ended their three-game losing streak away from home with a 2-1 Ligue 1 victory at Angers.
- Oscar-winning actress Anne Hathaway was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame in Los Angeles, US.
- Croatia’s World Cupper and former manager Igor Stimac has been appointed as Indian men’s team coach after the All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) technical committee recommended him for the post.He succeeds Stephen Constantine.
- The Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India announced the appointment of Shri Subhash Chand as the next Ambassador of India to the State of Eritrea.
- The Indian Air Force legally received its 1st Apache Guardian attack helicopter AH-64E (I) during a ceremony at the Boeing production facility in Mesa, Arizona, US (United States).
- According to the recent report released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) titled ‘Sand and Sustainability: finding new solutions for environmental governance of global sand resources‘, India and China top a list of nations where illegal sand mining.
- Yogesh Chander Deveshwar, who built ITC passed away after a brief illness in a private hospital at Gurugram. He was the India’s longest-serving corporate chief with over 20 years of experience.
1. Important Days
- World Migratory Bird Day, celebrated on [latex]11^{th}[/latex] May, two UN wildlife treaties and conservationists around the world are calling for urgent action to stop plastic pollution by highlighting its negative effects on seabirds and other migratory birds.
- The archaeologists have dubbed the chamber, which will require excavation with much of it buried and just its vault currently visible, Sala della Sfinge, or the Room of the Sphinx and say it is a significant discovery.
- A man walked into a pawn shop in Florida, put his baby on the counter and, according to police, asked how much he could get for the kid.
- Boeing is finalizing an update to software linked to both crashes, which it will submit to the Federal Aviation Administration in a crucial step toward getting the plane back in the air.
- Britain’s charity regulator opened a statutory inquiry in the activities and accounts of the Hindu Community Society, which seeks to advance Hindu religion with particular focus on the Tamil community with origins in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka.
- The Sri Lankan government ordered mosques to clamp down on extremists and to submit copies of sermons in new fallout from the Easter suicide bombings that left 258 dead.
- Odisha boiled over as hundreds of people in Chopada grampanchayat of Jagatsinghpur district blocked the Cuttack-Paradip road in the morning demanding resumption of power supply.
- The Supreme Court referred to a larger bench the issue of whether a lower court has the power to summon additional accused even after having decided a criminal case against the others involved.
- US aerospace major Boeing has handed over first of the 22 Apache Guardian attack helicopters to the Indian Air Force, nearly three-and-half years after a multi-billion dollar deal for the choppers was sealed.
- A SpiceJet flight from Bengaluru to Delhi with 152 passengers on-board made an emergency landing at Nagpur airport at 1.30 am following a technical snag.
- Pre-monsoon rainfall has been 21% below the long-period average (LPA) of 82.5mm between March 1 and May 8, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). North-west India, with a rain deficit of 37%, and peninsular India, with a shortfall of 39%, bore the brunt.
- As the last phase of Lok Sabha elections 2019 is scheduled to take place on May [latex]19^{th}[/latex], PM Modi will address poll rallies in Uttar Pradesh’s Robertsganj and Ghazipur.
- More than 1.43 crore electors will exercise their franchise on May [latex]12^{th}[/latex], as the national capital goes to polls to elect representatives to its seven Lok Sabha seats, Delhi’s chief electoral officer (CEO) Ranbir Singh said.
- IDFC First Bank has posted a net loss of ₹218 crore for the fourth quarter of 2018-19 due to high provisioning. The lender had a net profit of ₹41.93 crore for the same period a year ago.
- Syndicate Bank posted a net profit of ₹128.02 crore for the fourth quarter of 2018-19, with lower provisions and improvement in income.
- Allahabad Bank is looking to raise close to ₹1,200 crore through Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) this fiscal.
- Chennai Super Kings spinner Harbhajan Singh became the third Indian cricketer to claim 150 or more wickets in the history of Indian Premier League.
- Australia's Big Bash League has introduced a new rule that will allow the clubs to sign up to six overseas players across a season.
- Chennai Super Kings defeated Delhi Capitals in the Qualifier 2 to reach Indian Premier League final for the eighth time. CSK, who had also entered final of IPL in their previous two seasons (2015 and 2018).
- ActressDia Mirza was named among 17 global public figures appointed by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres as 'Sustainable Development Goals Advocates'.
- Nigerian Professor, Tijjani Mohammad Bande, has been appointed as the new President of the United Nations General Assembly(UNGA).
- Group Captain Chandra Shekhar Bhatt took over the command of Air Force Station Faridabad in a Ceremonial parade at Station Parade Ground. He took the charge from Group Caption Kaushik Das.
- Mangaluru based Karnataka Bank Limited appointed Balachandra Y V as Chief Operation Officer (COO) and Gokuldas Pai as Chief Business Officer (CBO).
- Manav Desai from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay have developed a microprocessor named ‘AJIT’ which was indigenously conceptualised, designed, developed and manufactured.
- Tamil novelist and Sahitya Akademi Awardee Thoppil Mohamed Meeran passed away at Pettai in Tirunelveli district. He was 74. He authored several Tamil and Malayalam novels. His novel “Saaivu Naarkkali” (The Reclining Chair) won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1997.
- ITC’s longest serving chief, YC Deveshwar, passed away this morning. He was 72 and is survived by his wife and two children.
1. International News
- The governing African National Congress (ANC) is expected to be returned to office in South Africa's parliamentary election, but with a reduced majority.
- The US has more than doubled tariffs on $200bn (£153.7bn) worth of Chinese products, in a sharp escalation of the countries' damaging trade war.
- More than seven decades after the end of World War II, the remains of political prisoners executed by the Nazis and dissected for research will be given a proper burial in Berlin.
- The US raised tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese products from 10% to 25%. "The Chinese side deeply regrets that it will have to take necessary countermeasures," China's Commerce Ministry said.
- The New Jerseyhub ranked as the worst U.S. airport in the 2019 annual ratings from AirHelp, an organization that specializesin air traveler rights andseeks compensationin cases of delays or cancellations. See last year’s rankings here.
- US President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense Patrick M Shanahan, which was announced, will have really big shoes to fill in New Delhi’s estimation as he succeeds James Mattis, who had emerged as this administration’s most fervent supporter of ties with India.
- Union minister Arun Jaitley asked whether Congress president Rahul Gandhi will oust party’s Overseas chief Sam Pitroda for his comment on the 1984 Sikh genocide that “It (riots) happened in 1984, so what?”
- Police in Assam have sent more than 110 declared foreigners to detention camps in the last fortnight as it looks for more than 72,000 such people, who remain untraceable, sources have said.
- The Ayodhya mediation panel, tasked with exploring the possibility of an amicable settlement of the decades-old issue, has been given time till August 15 to find a solution.
- The Supreme Court will hear the politically sensitive Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case and may take up the report of the mediation panel tasked with exploring the possibility of an amicable settlement of the decades-old issue.
- A week after Cyclone Fani wreaked havoc, life for nearly 14 million people in coastal Odisha has come to mean inadequate drinking water, skyrocketing prices of essentials goods, almost no electricity, limited mobile connectivity and ATMs running out of cash.
- Delhi Metro services will begin from 4 am, two hours earlier than regular timings, on May [latex]12^{th}[/latex] so that staff deployed for election duty can avail the facility for travelling, officials said.
- Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal says he wishes an alliance with the Congress in the capital had materialized, but that on hindsight his party is better off fighting the polls for seven Lok Sabha seats in the city on its own.
- The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its east Delhi candidate Gautam Gambhir of distributing pamphlets containing “obscene and derogatory” remarks on Atishi, the AAP candidate from the parliamentary segment.
- State Bank of India (SBI) reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly profit, partly due to provisions for bad loans that the country's largest lender by assets set aside in the quarter. Shares of SBI slipped as much as 2.3 per cent to ₹292.45.
- State Bank of India (SBI) said that it has received two unsolicited bids for ailing Jet Airways, nearly a month after the airline was forced to ground all operations due to funding troubles.
- The overdependence of local banks on overseas branches through less standardised instruments limits the scope of trade-credit operations.
- Young striker Sumit Kumar Jr struck a brace after comeback-man Rupinder Pal Singh opened the scoring as India’s men’s hockey thumped Australia ‘A’ 3-0, here.
- Manchester City and Liverpool have slugged it out in one of the most gripping Premier League title races of all time, going toe to toe in a monumental battle for the ages.
- Barcelona striker Luis Suarez underwent surgery on a knee injury and could be a doubt for their Copa del Rey final against Valencia later this month.
- Hockey goalkeeper Akash Chitke’s two-year dope suspension was reduced to 13 months after the National Anti-Doping Agency concluded that the player did not take the prohibited substance “intentionally”.
- Digital marketing platform SEMrush reported that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the most-followed politician in the world on social media with a total audience of 110.9 million on platforms including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Former US President Barack Obama was ranked first with 182.7 million followers.
- Former Supreme Court judge, KS Radhakrishnan has been appointed as a member of Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal (CSAT) for a term of 4 year, from 1st of June, 2019 to [latex]31^{st}[/latex] of May, 2023.
- WHO (World Health organization) collaborated with the International Food and Beverage Alliance (IFBA) to eliminate industrially produced trans fat (iTFA) from food supply worldwide by 2023.
- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), United States has approved first vaccine named Dengvaxia for the prevention of dengue disease but with certain conditions that use dengue vaccine only in people who have a previous history of the disease.
- Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella has announced the launch of “ElectionGuard”, a free open-source Software Development Kit(SDK) to help nations to carry out secure and verifiable voting.
- World's richest person, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has unveiled a two-storey-tall prototype of his aerospace startup Blue Origin's lunar lander, Blue Moon, to carry humans.
- Kirpal Singh passed away at his home in Chandigarh after a brief illness. He had retired as professor and head of the department of Punjab Historical Studies in Punjabi University, Patiala.
1. International News
- South American chef says he was stopped as he brought 40 piranhas in a duffel bag through Los Angeles International Airport.
- UK PM Theresa May repeated her ‘deep regret’ towards the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. She observed that it was unimaginable what those visitors went through on the day of the killings.
- North Korea fired an unidentified projectile, the South’s military chiefs said, less than a week after its leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the test-firing of multiple rockets and a missile.
- Joe Biden said that President Donald Trump is sowing fear at the US border with Mexico, not delivering solutions, after another month when about 100,000 immigrants were arrested trying to enter the country illegally.
- South China Sea, a US guided missile destroyer conducted drills with a Japanese aircraft carrier, two Indian naval ships and a Philippine patrol vessel in the waterway claimed by China, the US Navy said.
- A piece of stone drilled from Stonehenge, a mysterious circle of ancient stones in southern England, has been returned to the site 60 years after being removed during archaeological excavations, English Heritage.
- US President Donald Trump imposed tougher-than-ever sanctions on Iran’s iron, steel, aluminum and copper sectors, a move aimed at stopping Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and intercontinental ballistic missiles and to counter its “malign influence” in the Middle East.
- An all-women team of 15 researchers and engineers will be part of a National Geographic expedition that will travel up the Ganga from the Bay of Bengal to its source in the Gangotri glacier to study the flow of plastics in the river system.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar was designated as a global terrorist because India is now seen as a nation that will leave no stone unturned to ensure the safety and security of its citizens.
- A male Royal Bengal Tiger aged around 12 years has died in Assam’s Kaziranga National Park following infighting with another feline, park officials said.
- The Congress stepped up its attack on Narendra Modi after the Prime Minister said that late Rajiv Gandhi used Indian Navy’s warship for a ten-day personal trip with his family and in-laws.
- Cyclone Fani battered Odisha, the state government hoped that the restoration work in power and telecom sectors would gain momentum from Thursday with more skilled and well-equipped manpower from other states set to join the mammoth operation.
- The Union health ministry is considering a proposal to allow bedaquiline, a controlled-access drug used in the treatment of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), to be open for prescription in the private sector.
- The petition, which also wanted the court to debar the 48-year-old from contesting national elections, had argued that Rahul Gandhi was listed as a British citizen in a company report.
- The Judges of the In-House Inquiry Committee of the apex court, which gave clean chit to Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi on the allegations of sexual harassment against him, has done grave “injustice to the complainant, the CJI and the Supreme Court as an institution,” former Union Minister Arun Shourie.
- The Supreme Court made it clear once again that it will not extend even by a day the July [latex]31^{st}[/latex] deadline for finalisation of the National Register of Citizens in Assam and gave “free hand” to the coordinator to deal with complaints.
- Election officials will have to trek almost 22 km through a steep terrain to reach the Shakti village polling station—the farthest—in Himachal Pradesh.
- A former chief minister, a turncoat and a rebel scion makes for an exciting triangular contest for the Sonepat Parliamentary constituency.
- Repolling in 168 polling stations out of total 1,679 in West Tripura constituency would be conducted on May [latex]12^{th}[/latex], said the Election Commission of India.
- India Ratings has downgraded the bank’s long-term rating to ‘IND AA-’ with negative outlook, while reaffirming short-term rating, Yes Bank said in a late-evening filing.
- India’s biggest investors in shadow bank debt are getting cold feet, spelling more trouble for the hard-hit sector.
- Bureau Rating agency ICRA said it expects financial creditors to realise more than ₹80,000 crore in FY20 from the IBC process, against the ₹66,000 crore realised in FY19.
- Reaction to Tottenham Hotspur’s last-gasp 3-2 Champions League semi-final win over Ajax Amsterdam that sent them through to the final on away goals.
- Liverpool’s sensational 4-0 win over Barcelona at Anfield, overturning a 3-0 deficit from their Champions League semi-final first leg, brought back memories of another famous European comeback, 14 years back.
- Lewis Hamilton will seek to complete a hat-trick of Catalan triumphs and regain the lead in this year’s drivers’ world championship as Formula One returns home to this year’s first European race at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix.
- Delhi Capitals eliminated 2018 runners-up SunRisers Hyderabad from IPL 2019 after defeating them in the last over of the Eliminator.
- The Secretary of United Nations, General Antonio Guterres, accompanied with top UN officials and Peacekeeping personnel paid homage to 115 peacekeepers from 43 different countries who laid down their lives in the service of peace.
- Visa, the global leader in digital payments technology, announced the appointment of Sujatha V Kumar as Head of Marketing for India and South Asia.
- Jagjit Pavadia, an Indian, has been re-elected by the UN Economic and Social Council to a five year term on International Narcotics Control Board with the highest number of votes of 44 in the 54 member council.
- Rakesh Sharma, Bajaj Auto Executive Director and also a representative of SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufactures) has been elected as VP (Vice President) of IMMA, International Motorcycle Manufactures Association (based in Geneva) during the annual general meeting of (IMMA) at Yogyakarta in Indonesia.
- London-based scientists have used genetically modified viruses to treat a patient with an antibiotic-resistant infection in a first. Isabelle Carnell-Holdaway, was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when she was 11 months old and underwent double lung transplant in 2017, which caused bacteria Mycobacterium abscessus to take hold.
- US space agency NASA has shared before and after images of Odisha cities like Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, showing the areas where the lights went out following the Cyclone Fani.
- In a first, an international team of scientists claims it has demonstrated it is possible to generate a measurable amount of electricity in a diode directly from the coldness of the universe.
- Renowned academician and father of modern Indian Legal Education, Dr. Neelakanta Ramakrishna Madhava Menon (NR Madhava Menon) died at a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram at the age of 84. He was born on 4th May 1935 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
1. Important Days
- World Red Cross Day, also known as World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day which is observed every year on May [latex]8^{th}[/latex] is a gentle nod to all the volunteers who have made unparalleled contribution to people in duress or need.
- The global thalassaemia family, the [latex]8^{th}[/latex] of May constitutes a very special day as it is dedicated to both commemorate the thalassaemia patients who are no longer with us but are always close in our heart and to celebrate all those patients who are alive and fighting everyday for their right to a better quality of life.
- About 200 children in Sri Lanka have lost their family members, some of them sole breadwinners, in the massive Easter bombings, according to a leading charity organisation.
- Trump administration and congressional Democrats, the White House prohibited a former counsel from turning over documents to a House panel, the day after the treasury department refused to hand over the president’s income tax records.
- Zimbabwean vice president Constantino Chiwenga was likely to fly out of India on a chartered plane after his treatment evening, according to two officials familiar with the matter.
- Los Angeles executive became the third parent to plead guilty in the U.S college-admissions scandal, saying he paid a USD 400,000 bribe to get his son into Georgetown University with a falsified profile as a tennis recruit.
- world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, said hackers withdrew 7,000 Bitcoin worth about $40 million via a single transaction in a “large scale security breach,” the latest in a long line of thefts in the digital currency space.
- Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s achche din are over and that his “bure din” are about to begin.
- Tamil Nadu’s Madurai Government Hospital due to an unexpected power failure. After the incident, the kin of the deceased patients sat on a dharna in front of the hospital seeking action against the apathy of the concerned officials.
- The Bhartiya Kamgar Sena (BKS), the trade union wing of the Shiv Sena, led a protest by the staff of Jet Airways, seeking the government’s intervention to solve the crisis facing the beleaguered airline.
- BJP government at the Centre in the last five years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched another attack on the Congress, its senior leaders and its policies.
- The ex-wife of an Indian-origin neurologist in Singapore has been granted Singapore dollars 25 million in assets, child support and spousal support by a British Columbia court, in one of the biggest divorce payouts abroad.
- The Supreme Court declined to entertain the Congress’s complaint against a string of clean chits handed out by the Election Commission to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP boss Amit Shah.
- Lok Sabha election has touched a new low for its plummeting political discourse, it will also be remembered for the poetic twist that the leaders are giving to their speeches to convey their message effectively.
- Scion of the royal family of Rampur-Bushahr, Virbhadra Singh, addressed as Raja Sahib by his followers, is an old war horse of the Congress in Himachal Pradesh.
- Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said at a public rally that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is “drenched in blood from head to feet”, alluding to the 2002 Gujarat riots, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in Bengal lashed out at her, alleging that the blood stains are in fact on the hands of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2019 poll campaign mirrors his 2014 general election debut in terms of the ground he has covered through public meetings and rallies.
- Madhya Pradesh has recorded a more than 10 percentage point increase in voter turnout in the first two phases of polling that covered 13 of its 29 Lok Sabha seats, the highest for any state so far, according to Election Commission (EC) data.
- The Sensex closed at 37,789.13, down 1.27%. The Nifty ended at 11,359.45, down 1.2%. In the last six sessions, the Sensex fell 3.2%, or 1,278 points, while the Nifty was down 3.36%, or 395 points.
- In what could be a re-run of May 2014, the Indian equity markets have entered into a 'Mirror Image' formation on the technical charts which is expected to push the benchmark NSE Nifty above the 12,500 points-mark.
- RBI had cut interest rate by 25 basis points each in February and April to boost economic growth. The report noted that food and fuel prices should accelerate in coming months particularly in the event of a sub-normal monsoon
- BSE reported standalone net profit of ₹201.05 crore during 2018-19. The board recommended payment of dividend of ₹25 per equity share of face value of ₹2 each
- Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Gymnastics Federation of India (GFI) have left a 10-member Indian team waiting for government clearance for the Asian Championships in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia from June 19-23.
- Liverpool produced one of the most stunning comebacks in Champions League history to beat Barcelona 4-0 and progress to the final for the second consecutive year as stand-in striker Divock Origi and substitute Georginio Wijnaldum both scored twice.
- Real Madrid, under president Florentino Perez, started an ambitious project to assemble some of the most sought after footballers in the world. The club broke the bank several times to get top stars like Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, David Beckham and the likes under one roof.
- Roger Federer shook off a brief bout of pre-match jitters as he returned to clay after a three-year absence, posting a 6-2, 6-3 win over Richard Gasquet on Tuesday at the Madrid Open.
- Mumbai Indians had first reached the final in 2010 when they lost to Chennai Super Kings. In 2013, 2015 and 2017, Mumbai Indians won the IPL.
- Chennai Super Kings leg-spinner Imran Tahir has become the fourth spinner to take 300 wickets in T20 cricket.
- West Indies player John Campbell and Shai Hope created the history by making first-ever 350 plus run opening stand against Ireland.
- Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has introduced two new award categories,off Women’s goalkeeper of the year and a women’s team of the year, to promote women’s football across the globe.
- The Volleyball Federation of India appointed Serbian Dragan Mihailovic as head coach of the men’s national team in a move linked to the long term goal of Olympic Games qualification.
- Chris Gayle has been named vice-captain of West Indies for the World Cup 2019. In what will be his last ODI tournament, the left-handed opener will be deputy to skipper Jason Holder.
- They have 360 battery cells that weight 750 kilograms each and powers the permanently magnetized propulsion motor.
- Former Indian Cue sports Player, Coach and administrator Derek Sippy, who was in his 60s, died due to a massive heart attack in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
- Former West Indies Batsman Seymour Nurse died after prolonged illness at the age of 85. He was born on 10 November 1933 at Saint Michael, Barbados.
1. Important Days
- The World Athletics Day is celebrated on [latex]7^{th}[/latex] May. On which day the Athletics Day will be observed is decided by the IAAF. In the year 2006 the participants of this day were between the age of 7 to 15 years but later on this age gap made to 13 to 17 years.
- India and nations like Germany, Brazil and Japan are “absolutely needed” as permanent members of a reformed and enlarged UN Security Council to better reflect contemporary realities and the addition of these key members to the UN high-table is among France’s “strategic” priorities, the French envoy to the UN has said.
- The Trump administration is proposing a hike in the H-1B visa application fee to increase funding for the expansion of an apprentice programme, which trains American youths in technology related activities, Labour Secretary Alexander Acosta told US lawmakers.
- Myanmar’s Official Secrets Act, Reuters journalists Wa Lone, 33, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 29, had spent more than 500 days in jail when they were freed.
- President Donald Trump awarded Tiger Woods the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House, calling the golfer “one of the greatest athletes in the history of sports.”
- All 13 people aboard were killed when a private jet crashed between the U.S. city of Las Vegas and Monterrey in northern Mexico, authorities said.
- China has not formally confirmed that it is building a third carrier, despite recent hints in state media, and the timing and extent of its carrier programme remain state secrets, however the Pentagon said last week that work had begun, but no images have emerged until now.
- A US House of Representatives committee will vote to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of congress for missing deadline for handing over an un-redacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian meddling.
- The United States announced night it had deployed an aircraft carrier strike group and a number of bombers to West Asia to “send a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian regime” that any attack on American interest or allies will be met with “unrelenting force”.
- The Delhi High Court quashed an FIR accusing AAP MLA Somnath Bharti of domestic violence. Justice Chander Shekhar allowed Bharti’s plea to quash the criminal case after noting that Bharti and his wife Lipika Mitra are living happily together.
- Aam Aadmi Party minister Kailash Gahlot and set up a huge political row in the national capital, the Enforcement Directorate attached Rs 1.46 crore assets of the minister’s brother on money laundering charges.
- The government in Odisha started distributing relief material, four days after Cyclone Fani ripped through its coast causing extensive damage, even as people grew restive over the pace of restoration work.
- The Supreme Court allowed Karti Chidambaram, who is facing criminal cases being probed by the ED and CBI, to travel to the US, Germany and Spain this month.
- Five Indian sailors have reportedly been abducted by pirates in Nigeria. This was revealed by external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj in a tweet.
- Many women lawyers and activists were among protesters outside the Supreme Court as they questioned the clean chit given to Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi in a sexual harassment case a day ago.
- An Indian-American man has been indicted on charges of perpetrating an investment fraud scheme in which he allegedly told investors that their money would be used to fund research and develop prototype spacecraft and space-related propulsion systems but instead used it for personal expenses.
- Three of the seven upper-caste men accused of beating a 21-year-old Dalit man nine days before he died at a Dehradun hospital on Sunday were arrested in Uttarakhand’s Tehri Garhwal district.
- The Indian Railways is likely to discontinue the dining coach on the Deccan Queen Express after 89 years because of the rising number of passengers on the Pune-Mumbai route.
- CBI has conducted a polygraph test, popularly known as a lie-detector test, on the complainant and an accused in its case against the agency’s former special director Rakesh Asthana registered on October 15 last year.
- India and China are working closely on common trade concerns, including cooperation in buying oil and gas, against the backdrop of a US squeeze through tariffs and sanctions on Iranian oil imports, officials with direct knowledge of the matter said.
- The Supreme Court directed the CBI to complete by June [latex]3^{rd}[/latex] its probe into the alleged murder of 11 girls at a shelter home in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur and asked the agency to file a status report.
- The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has conducted a lie-detector test on the complainant, Hyderabad-based businessman Sana Sathish Babu, and an accused, Somesh Prasad, in the corruption case it filed against the agency’s former special director, Rakesh Asthana, in October last year.
- Lok Sabha elections was underway, a controversy of sorts erupted when 2 balloting units, a control unit and 2 VVPAT machines were found from a hotel in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur. Voting was held in Muzaffarpur on May [latex]6^{th}[/latex].
- The Supreme Court dismissed a review petition filed by 21 opposition parties seeking verification of 50 per cent EVMs and VVPAT machines during counting of Lok Sabha election votes scheduled for May [latex]23^{th}[/latex].
- Technocrat-turned-Congress strategist Sam Pitroda invoked Mahatma Gandhi and the land of Gujarat to launch a counter attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his remarks against former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
- Chief electoral officer (CEO) Anand Kumar appealed to voters to “vote fearlessly” in the second and last phase of Lok Sabha elections in Rajasthan.
- Polling will be held in Ladakh Lok Sabha constituency and Pulwama and Shopian districts of Anantnag seat in Jammu and Kashmir.
- The benchmark BSE Sensex recovered over 200 points led by gains in banking and IT stocks despite weak global cues. The 30-share index was trading 169.69 points, or 0.44 per cent, higher at 38,770.03.
- Private sector lender ICICI Bank registered a five per cent drop in its net profit in the fourth quarter of 2018-19 with higher provisions and expenditure.
- Federal Bank has recorded the highest-ever annual net profit of ₹1,243.89 crore during 2018-19 (up 41.54 per cent) and quarterly net profit of ₹381.51 crore for the fourth quarter (up 163.13 per cent), compared to the corresponding period last year.
- Smriti Mandhana-led Trailblazers defeated Harmanpreet Kaur-led Supernovas on the last ball of the first match of Women's T20 Challenge in Jaipur
- Chennai Super Kings batsman Ambati Rayudu and SunRisers Hyderabad all-rounder Vijay Shankar ended IPL 2019 league stage with identical batting statistics. Both the players scored 219 runs in 14 matches.
- Hockey India allayed concerns the FIH Series Finals may have to be shifted out of Bhubaneswar in the aftermath of Cylone Fani, confirming that the June 6-15 tournament will be in the Odisha capital as scheduled.
- Suarez shone on the field during a turbulent three-and-a-half years at Liverpool, that included long bans for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic and racially abusing Patrice Evra of Manchester United.
- Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola led the tributes to Vincent Kompany after the Belgian’s thunderous strike earned a nervy 1-0 win over Leicester City to move the English champions to within one win of retaining the Premier League.
- Asian Power lifting Championship gold medallist Arthi Arun has expressed indignation over not being recognised in her own land for her achievements.
- Nepali teenager, Bandana danced continuously for 126 hours to set a Guinness World Records on “Longest Dancing Marathon by an Individual”.
- Indian –origin journalist G D ‘Robert’ Govender conferred with V K Krishna Menon Award 2019 in UK for his contribution as a pioneer of decolonised journalism. The award is given to mark the 123rd birth anniversary of V K Krishna Menon, Indian diplomat and politician.
- A Jewish, Lieutenant General (retired) Jack Farj Rafael (JFR) Jacob honoured with a plaque on the Wall of Honour at the Ammunition Hill. He fought World War II and India Pakistan war of 1965 and also negotiated the historic surrender of Pakistani troops in Dhaka after the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation war.
- Backed by North Macedonia’s ruling party, Stevo Pendarovski, the 55-year-old former political-science professor won the presidential runoff vote amid promises to push the Balkan state towards NATO (The North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and European Union membership.
- The Panama Electoral Tribunal announced Laurentino “Nito” Cortizo (with 95% of votes counted) as the winner of Panama’s presidential election.
- Two days after its launch from Florida, the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft delivered nearly 2,500 kg of research, crew supplies and hardware to the International Space Station.
- Iran will restart part of its nuclear programme it had halted under the 2015 nuclear deal with other world powers, the state media said quoting sources.
- Former Lok Sabha member and Veteran CPI leader Duti Krushna Panda passed away due to old age-related ailments in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
1. International News
- Dramatic footage shared on social media showed the Aeroflot-owned aircraft engulfed in flames as it landed on the tarmac at Sheremetyevo, Moscow’s busiest airport.
- Muhammad Fayyaz has captured the hearts of many in a nation where millions, just like him, have limited access to education and are fighting for opportunities.
- The Trump administration is deploying a carrier strike group and bombers to the Middle East in response to troubling “indications and warnings” from Iran and to show the United States will retaliate with “unrelenting force” to any attack, national security adviser John Bolton said
- The US planemaker has been trying for weeks to dispel suggestions that it made airlines pay for safety features after it emerged that an alert designed to show discrepancies in Angle of Attack readings from two sensors was optional on the 737 MAX.
- Hong Kong tycoon is doing the next best thing. He’s going after the salesman who persuaded him to entrust a chunk of his fortune to the supercomputer whose trades cost him more than $20 million.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has praised Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik for overseeing the relief and rescue operation after Cyclone Fani left a trail of destruction in the eastern state.
- The Supreme Court stayed disqualification proceedings against two AIADMK MLAs, who were served notice by the Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker for allegedly indulging in “anti-party” activities. The notices were served under the anti-defection law.
- The Supreme Court is likely to peruse the Election Commission order clearing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speeches at its next hearing on Wednesday after the Congress accused the poll panel of bias.
- The Uttarakhand police promised action as the family of a 21-yearold Dalit man said he died nine days after upper-caste men allegedly thrashed him for having dinner seated on a chair ahead of them at a wedding in Tehri Garhwal district on April [latex]26^{th}[/latex].
- Timely intervention of the police prevented major clashes between two communities over construction of a disputed structure at Amberpet in Hyderabad night.
- A Special Purpose Vehicle under the Ministry of Electronics & IT, (Information Technology) CSC (Common Services Centre) e-Governance Services India Limited, has partnered with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)Kanpur to upscale ‘Unnat Bharat Abhiyan’.
- In remarks that could spark a row, Shiromani Akali Dal national spokesman Manjinder Singh Sirsa Sunday said former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was “India’s biggest mob lyncher”.
- Polling will be held in Ladakh Lok Sabha constituency and Pulwama and Shopian districts of Anantnag seat in Jammu and Kashmir on May [latex]6{th}[/latex].
- Almost 20 years after he laid down arms, Abdul Munaf Malik, a former ‘commander’ of militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen, is a disillusioned man. He says many other militants like him, who shunned violence to join the national mainstream, are also feeling cheated.
- The BJP’s Amethi Lok Sabha candidate Smriti Irani alleged booth capturing in her constituency while taking a dig at her Congress opponent Rahul Gandhi as 51 seats across seven states voted in phase 5
- Union Home Minister and BJP candidate Rajnath Singh was among the early voters in Gomtinagar polling station of Lucknow parliamentary constituency, which he won by a margin of more than two lakh votes in 2014.
- The Election Commission rejected the plea that sought to advance the commencement of voting from 7 am to 4.30-5 am in the month of Ramzan.
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is understood to be weighing a plan to ‘incentivise’ lenders to take errant borrowers to bankruptcy court.
- LIC Housing Finance Ltd's shares fell as much as 4.1 per cent to Rs 464.2, its lowest since February 27. Recent asset quality trends, coupled with expected stress in construction financing and mean near-term stock catalysts are lacking, said finanical services company Nomura.
- Federal Bank Ltd rose as much as 4.4 per cent, their highest since May 2018. The bank had posted a nearly two-fold jump in March-quarter consolidated profit.
- Mumbai Indians defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by nine wickets to finish the league stage of an IPL edition on top of the points table for the third time.
- As Sarita Devi, 37, stood on the podium to receive her eighth Asian Championships medal in Bangkok on April 26, a fond memory flashed through her head.
- International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach called the controversial gender case of South African runner Caster Semenya “extremely complicated and delicate” and said an expert panel will study its implications.
- Aaron Ramsey made a tearful farewell to Arsenal after 11 years at the club on Sunday and said he was looking forward to the next phase of his career at Juventus.
- Former world number one Roger Federer said he was glad he made the decision to return to clay courts as he prepares for the Madrid Open this week, three years after his last match on the surface.
- Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty was awarded 27th P.C. Chandra Puraskaar, the annual national award from the P.C. Chandra Group at Biswa Bangla Convention Centre.
- Serbia’s Dragan Mihailovic has been appointed as the new head coach of the Indian Men’s Volleyball team by the Volleyball Federation of India (VFI). While Pryemyslaw Gaszyoski and Valadimir Radosevic have been named as the team’s physio trainer and physiotherapist respectively.
- Archery Association of India (AAI) named Sunil Sharma, its senior vice president (also VP of Jammu and Kashmir Archery Association) in accordance with Article 24 of AAI Constitution (as approved by the Supreme Court on 4th December 2017) as its acting president to start the election process.
- Flipkart-owned fashion e-commerce platform Myntra has appointed ViratKohli and Anushka Sharma as its first ever official brand ambassadors.
- A apanese aerospace start-up Interstellar Technology Inc. has successfully launched a first privately developed rocket ‘Momo-3’ into space.
- Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (Space X) launched its [latex]17^{th}[/latex] commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) by using Falcon 9 rocket with Dragon Spacecraft. The 213-foot-tall rocket lifted off at about 2:48 a.m. local time from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
- Researchers in the US found that Gulf killifish were able to live in water with toxins, possibly deadly to other species, by acquiring other species' DNA. The fish population survived in the polluted Houston Ship Channel after mating with killifish species, which lived over 2,400 km away on Atlantic coast.
- Iron Ox has said it has started selling lettuce and basil grown by its robots at a nearby California-based store. The startup, which launched last October, said robot farms can be located nearer to customers and save transportation cost because of their smaller physical footprint.
- Shahid Afridi, former captain of the ‘Pakistan national cricket team‘ has written his autobiography titled, ‘Game Changer’ which will unveil answers to the much-contemplated questions about him. The book has been published by Harper Collin’s India.
1. International News
- Sri Lanka’s $4.4 billion tourism industry is reeling from cancellations as travellers shun the sun and sand Indian Ocean island after multiple suicide bombings that killed over 250 people two weeks ago.
- US city of Omaha to bask in the wisdom of billionaire Warren Buffett, whose simple approach to investing and whose mistrust of Wall Street they share.
- North Korean state media said leader Kim Jong Un observed a live-fire drill of long-range multiple rocket launchers and unspecified tactical guided weapons, a day after South Korea’s military detected the North launching several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast.
- Billionaire Warren Buffett, one of the world’s most influential businessmen, said Saturday that he would not hesitate to fly in a Boeing 737 Max airplane, despite the grounding of the planes after two fatal crashes.
- The United States condemns Gaza militants’ rocket attacks on Israel and backs the Jewish state’s right to self-defense, the State Department said.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi should be shown exit door as his five-year rule has been “most traumatic and devastating” for India’s youths, farmers, traders and every democratic institution, his predecessor Manmohan Singh.
- Pakistan Army lobbed mortars and fired from small arms at forward posts and villages along the LoC in Poonch and Rajouri districts of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.
- A 40-year-old woman was allegedly abducted and gang-raped by two men in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district.
- Bengal administration alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi bypassed it and called governor Keshari Nath Tripathi to prepare a report on the damage inflicted by Cyclone Fani, government sources said the claim was not correct.
- The Supreme Court denied a media report that said justices RF Nariman and DY Chandrachud met Justice SA Bobde who is heading an in-house committee inquiring into the sexual harassment allegations against Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi.
- Bharati Ghosh, the BJP candidate from West Bengal’s Ghatal constituency, has kicked up a row by threatening Trinamool Congress workers.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi said ‘mahamilawati’ parties do not want to acknowledge India’s growing strength in the international arena.
- Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal claimed that the attack against him on Saturday was part of a “conspiracy by the BJP.” He said the assault was an insult to the people of the national capital.
- Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his comments that SP has a tacit understanding with the Congress and BSP boss Mayawati has been kept in the dark.
- LIC Housing Finance Ltd (LICHFL) reported a 17 per cent year-on-year (yoy) increase in net profit at ₹ 694 crore in the fourth quarter March [latex]31^{st}[/latex], 2019 against ₹594 crore in the year ago period.
- State-owned Bank of Baroda (BoB) said it has hiked its marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) by 0.05 per cent with effect from May [latex]7^{th}[/latex].
- Vodafone Idea Ltd, India’s largest telecom operator notified a 5-year multi-million-dollar IT outsourcing deal with IBM (International Business Machines Corporation).
- Divock Origi headed Liverpool back to the top of the Premier League despite losing Mohamed Salah to a head injury in a thrilling 3-2 win at Newcastle, while nine-man Tottenham lost once more on the road 1-0 at Bournemouth.
- Tottenham Hotspur had two men sent off and failed to make sure of a Premier League top-four finish after slipping to a 1-0 defeat by Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium
- RCB defeated SRH by four wickets to finish their IPL 2019 campaign with five victories in 14 matches. The match witnessed RCB batsmen Shimron Hetmyer and Gurkeerat Singh Mann share a partnership of 144 runs, the highest-ever fourth-wicket stand in IPL.
- The article titled ‘Coalgate 2.0’ written by Nileena M S has won the Asian College of Journalism’s Award for Investigative Journalism, 2018.
- A nurse was denied a London Marathon Guinness World Record because she ran wearing scrubs with trousers and not a skirt. Jessica Anderson, who works at the Royal London Hospital, wanted to be the quickest woman to complete the race dressed as a nurse
- The Chief Economic Adviser (CEA), Dr. Krishnamurthy Subramanian has been included as the member of the Advisory Council to the 15th Finance Commission headed by N.K. Singh.
- ShriGodavarthiVenkataSrinivas (IFS:1993) was appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Senegal. Presently, he is Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs.
- Bhushan Patil, President of India’s mobile payment and commerce platform, Paytm has quit the company, In March 2016, he had joined Paytm after serving five years at Alibaba.com.
- Jerusalem's Hebrew University researchers claim a combination of five genes reprogrammed skin cells in mice into the three early embryonic cell types, namely the embryo, the placenta and the extra-embryonic tissues such as the umbilical cord. The reprogramming took around one month.
- Billionaire Elon Musk's aerospace startup SpaceX has launched microchips embedded with living human cells that mimic human organs, called 'organs-on-chips', to help scientists study how space travel affects humans.
- Former Chief Justice of Madras and Kerala High Courts, Justice Subhashan Reddy died at the age of 76 in Gachibowli due to age-related ailments. He was born at Amberpet in Hyderabad in 1943.
1. Important Days
- International Firefighters' Day (IFFD) is observed on May [latex]46{th}[/latex]. It was instituted after a proposal was emailed out across the world on January [latex]4^{th}[/latex], 1999 due to the deaths of five firefighters in tragic circumstances in a bushfire in Australia.
- Three locally made bombs and 100 grams of ammonia have been found buried in a backyard of a mosque in a Sri Lankan district, the police said.
- A Boeing jetliner with 143 people aboard from the U.S. outpost at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, slid off a runway into a shallow river in Jacksonville, Florida, while attempting to land at a military base there during a thunderstorm, injuring 21 people.
- North Korea fired a short-range missile from the east coast city of Wonsan towards the east morning, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff.
- U.S. President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the possibility of a new accord limiting nuclear arms that could eventually include China in what would be a major deal between the globe’s top three atomic powers.
- A European study of nearly 1,000 gay male couples who had sex without condoms - where one partner had HIV and was taking antiretroviral drugs to suppress it - has found the treatment can prevent sexual transmission of the virus.
- The United States had another giant month of job creation in April, confirming the strength of the world’s largest economy as President Donald Trump prepares to fend off challengers in next year’s election.
- Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn was formally crowned as a divine monarch. Vajiralongkorn donned the 7.3 kg Great Crown of Victory as part of the coronation ceremonies mixing Buddhist and Hindu Brahmin traditions.
- The unemployment rate in the US has reached 3.6%, dropping to its lowest level in more than 49 years, figures released by the US' Labour Department showed.
- Former chief of Army staff and Minister of State for External Affairs General VK Singh responded to Congress’s claims that six surgical strikes had been carried out during the UPA tenure and accused the Congress of lying.
- The Bihar State Minorities Commission has requested the government to ensure a better civic amenities like water, electricity supplies and cleanliness in state capital, especially in the areas having high Muslim population during the month of Ramzan.
- At least 12 people are reported to have died and more than a thousand others injured a day after Cyclone Fani wreaked havoc in at least 12 districts of Odisha, bringing life to a complete standstill in half the coastal state.
- The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has directed the committee, constituted by the Lucknow district magistrate, to remove encroachments from near Balrampur Hospital, King George Medical University (KGMU) and Civil Hospital, Lucknow.
- The Supreme Court, the Centre has stated that the monitoring of Rafale deal by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) cannot be seen as interference in any way, news agency ANI reported.
- External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said that the Congress lacked the political will but Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s diplomatic skill led to the UN declaring Jaish-e-mohammed chief Masood Azhar a global terrorist and the isolation of Pakistan in the international community.
- Congress president Rahul Gandhi took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of the listing of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by raising the question of who had released the terrorist in 1999.
- Cyclone Fani battered the Odisha coastline and hit gangetic West Bengal with a wind speed of 185 kmph, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Odisha governor Professor Ganeshi Lal on the devastation in the state due to the severe cyclonic storm.
- A radio-tagged female Amur falcon, which flew non-stop for five days covering thousands of kilometers to reach Somalia in November last year, has returned to the Indian sub-continent on her way to her breeding area in northern China, a Wildlife Institute of India (WII) official said .
- Kolkata escaped the direct fury of Cyclone Fani as it followed a path through West Midnapore, Hooghly and Nadia districts and passed about 40km to the west of the West Bengal capital.
- A team of senior defence officials led by the Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra was in Russia last week and one of the issues discussed was the payment channel.
- India is becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the idea of buying more American shale oil, which the US has been pushing to counterbalance the impact of sanctions on Iranian oil exports, officials with direct knowledge of the matter said on condition of anonymity.
- Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS) said Pakistan was fully aware that it was no match for India in a conventional conflict and the air strikes were merely a “demonstration of will” and did not intend to target India’s military or civilian assets.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address public meetings in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. BJP chief Amit Shah will be in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi to address election meetings.
- The election commission will welcome 999 centenarian voters in Himachal Pradesh with roses and other flowers at polling booths on the May [latex]196{th}[/latex], when the state goes to polls.
- Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray has also adopted his late uncle and Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray’s style of politics.
- Masayoshi Son-led Japanese multinational conglomerate SoftBank Group is planning an Initial Public Offering (IPO) of its $100-billion Vision Fund, the Wall Street Journal reported. It is also reportedly in talks with Oman to raise funds.
- Private sector lender Federal Bank net profit rose up to Rs 381.51 crore for the fourth quarter of 2018-19, over 160 per cent increase from the Rs 144.99 crore in the same period a year ago. This was on the back on stable asset quality and improved income.
- State-owned Bank of Baroda (BoB) said it has hiked its marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) by 0.05 per cent with effect from May [latex]76{th}[/latex].
- Aditya Birla Capital said its board has approved raising funds up to ₹ 3,500 crore through both equity and debt issuances.
- India's campaign at the New Zealand Open ended after the unseeded HS Prannoy lost 21-17, 15-21, 14-21 to world number 11 Japanese shuttler Kanta Tsuneyama in his last-eight round match.
- Rajasthan Royals' cricketer Sanju Samson said that he will work harder to earn a spot in the Indian cricket team. "To enter the Indian team you need to know how to make a comeback.
- The ICC has expanded its men's T20I team rankings table from 18 to 80 teams. Teams like France, Spain, Botswana, Lesotho and Mozambique are among the sides figuring in the new men's T20I rankings table.
- Delhi Capitals fast bowler Kagiso Rabada, who has bowled the top four fastest deliveries in Indian Premier League 2019, has been ruled out of the rest of the tournament.
- Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Kings XI Punjab by seven wickets to register their second consecutive victory after losing six successive matches in IPL 2019.
- Tod D. Wolters, the former pilot, who has served in Afghanistan and Iraq, has been declared as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe during the ceremony at NATO‘s (The North Atlantic Treaty Organization) military headquarters in Mons, southern Belgium.
- The Rajasthan Royals reappointed Ajinkya Rahane as the side's captain after Steve Smith returned to Australia. Earlier, Smith had been appointed as the side's captain after the team managed to win just two of their opening eight matches.
- The 340m wide asteroid named 99942 Apophis will fly past Earth like a ‘moving star- like point of light’ on April 13, 2029. It will fly above the earth’s surface at 30,500 km and first become visible with a naked eye in the night sky over the Southern Hemisphere from the east coast to the west coast of Australia.
- Google-owned YouTube manually reviewed 10 lakh videos it suspected of violating its terrorism policy in the first three months of 2019. It added it also deleted 90,000 videos in violation of the same.
- Actor Peter Mayhew, well known for portraying Chewbacca the Wookiee in the Star Wars films, has died at the age of 74 at his home in North Texas, U.S. He was born on [latex]19^{th}[/latex] May 1944 in Barnes, London.
- Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader and former finance minister, V Viswanatha Menon Passed away at the age of 92 in Kochi, Kerala. He was popularly known as “Ambadi Viswam”. He was born in Ernakulam, Kerala.
1. Important Days
- The United Nations General Assembly declared May [latex]3^{th}[/latex] to be World Press Freedom Day or just World Press Day to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression enshrined under Article 19 of the 1948.
- Pakistan, obsessed with India as a perceived existential threat, has “created terrorist groups to be a tool” in its struggle against India, a former top American spymaster has said.
- A Vietnamese woman who spent more than two years in a Malaysian prison on suspicion of killing the half-brother of North Korea’s leader was freed, a court translator said. The UK has become the world's first countryto declare an environment and climate emergency, the Labour Party said. The Parliament approved Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's motion which calls to aim to achieve net-zero emissions before 2050.
- Fiona Onasanya (Labour), disgraced by her lying and jailed in January for perverting the course of justice, has now been removed from the House of Commons. She represented Peterborough, but was expelled by Labour due to her conduct.
- UN’s 1267 Sanctions Committee dropped these references – a face-saving measure for Pakistan apparently at the behest of China, which lifted its technical hold for the designation to go ahead.
- US-based meat substitutes startup Beyond Meat, backed by world's second richest person Bill Gates and Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio has raised over $240 million in its IPO, nearing a $1.5-billion valuation.
- National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed a ₹1-crore fine on Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) for non-compliance of its November 2017 order. Uttar Pradesh's Hansika Shukla and Karishma Arora, who jointly topped the CBSE Class 12th board exams with 499/500 marks, lost a mark in English and Economics subjects, respectively. Hansika scored 100/100 in History, Political Science, Psychology and Hindustani vocals.
- Trivandrum in Kerala is the top performing region with a pass percentage of 98.2% in Class 12 CBSE Boards, the results of which were declared.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the Centre has released more than Rs 100 crore to all the states, which will face the brunt of Cyclone Fani that made landfall near Puri killing two people, and all those affected that the entire country was with them.
- Andhra Pradesh was spared the impact as the cyclone brushed past its coast before making landfall. Moderate to heavy rains, ranging from five to 19cm, accompanied with heavy gales lashed the coastal areas in Srikakulam district.
- Rains and strong winds lashed Odisha’s capital Bhubaneswar and Cuttack and Bhadrak on Friday as the extremely severe Cyclone Fani made landfall in Puri hitting power supply and emptying streets.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address three public meetings in Rajasthan’s Hindaun, Sikar and Bikaner.
- The torture that she allegedly endured in prison and her resolve to punish those who coined the term “saffron terror” is the fulcrum of Pragya Singh Thakur’s election campaign.
- South Kashmir’s militancy-infested districts of Pulwama and Shopian go to the polls next but the election fever is totally missing across n towns and villages in both.
- BJP has approached the Delhi Chief Electoral Office seeking permission to air Akshay Kumar-starrer Padman and Toilet- Ek Prem Katha on NaMo TV. The office has written to the Election Commission asking if it can certify movies already been cleared by the Censor Board.
- Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar wants his party to start preparations for the state assembly elections scheduled later this year after the conclusion of Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra, according to people aware of the development.
- SBI has linked its interest rates on large savings account deposits and some short-term loans to the RBI's repo rate effective . India's largest lender is now offering interest of 3.25% per annum on savings accounts with deposits above ₹1 lakh.
- HDFC Life Insurance said UK-based investment manager Standard Life will sell 1.78% stake in the company for ₹1,404 crore beginning. Standard Life said it was reducing its stake to help the Indian insurer meet the minimum public shareholding level as per SEBI regulations.
- Bandhan Bank CEO Chandra Shekhar Ghosh said the lender will reduce its promoter holding to mandated level of 40% through offer-for-sale route.
- The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) allowed banks to declare the defaulting accounts of IL&FS group as bad loans.
- Private lender Bandhan Bank reported a 68% rise in March quarter profit at ₹651 crore, up from ₹388 crore in the year-ago period.
- MI chased down nine runs in three balls in Super Over against SRH to become the third team after CSK and DC to qualify for IPL 2019 playoffs.
- Raffaele Bergamasco, the Performance Director of Indian women’s boxing, has very little idea about Bollywood movies but astonishingly, his coaching methodology bears great resemblance to the movie’s script.
- Former ISRO chairman A S Kiran Kumar was conferred with France’s highest civilian honour, Chevalier de l’Ordre national de la Legion d’Honneur, for his contribution to India-France space cooperation.
- Air Marshal SK Ghotia VSM took charge as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Training Command. He will succeed Air Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria, who has recently assumed charge as Vice Chief of the Air Staff.
- Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has appointed chartered accountant M Jayshree Vyas as its first independent woman director to the board. However, BSE has missed the deadline of April 1 which was given to all top 500 listed companies based on their market capitalisation to appoint an independent woman director on their board.
- With earnings of ₹244.30 crore so far, Marvel Studios' superhero film 'Avengers: Endgame' has become the highest grossing Hollywood film ever in India. Moreover, the film has earned over $1.2 billion (₹8,323 crore) to become the highest opening weekend opener in history across the world.
- Astronomers have discovered rapidly swinging jets coming from a black hole almost 8,000 light-years from Earth. As the black hole spins, it drags spacetime around with it, causing its inner accretion disk to rotate, researchers said.
- Veteran Kannada cinema, theatre actor as well as political satirist, Master Hirannaiah died in Bengaluru at the age of 85 due to liver ailments. He was born as Narasimha Murthy in Mysuru.
1. International News
- Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó has called for an escalating series of strikes to force President Nicolás Maduro to relinquish power.
- Wildlife authorities have shared photos of a three-eyed snake that was found on a highway in northern Australia.
- US government official said designating Masood Azhar demonstrates the international commitment to rooting out terrorism in Pakistan and bringing security and stability to South Asia.
- The surprise announcement was carried in the Royal Gazette, and footage from Wednesday’s wedding ceremony was later shown on the nightly Royal News segment aired on all Thai television channels.
- Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar was designated a global terrorist by the United Nations after China withdrew its long-standing opposition to the move.
- Britain’s embattled Prime Minister Theresa May sacked defence secretary Gavin Williamson following an investigation into the leak of sensitive issues related to Chinese telecom major Huawei and its potential role in building the UK’s 5G network.
- Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar was listed as an international terrorist after “all political references” were removed from the resolution and it was not a victory for India.
- British Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson was summarily fired after an investigation into leaks from a secret government meeting about Chinese telecoms firm Huawei.
- Two girls, both from Uttar Pradesh schools, have topped the CBSE Class 12 results declared with 84.3% of the students who took the exam passing it.
- Charminar, the symbol of Hyderabad, has suffered damage as a piece of lime stucco work on one of its minarets fell off following unseasonal rains, officials said.
- The Jammu and Kashmir administration announced that it has completely lifted the restrictions on civilian traffic movement on the northern part of national highway number 44.
- Odisha started evacuating lakhs of people from its seaside villages and interior districts in buses and smaller vehicles, a day before an extremely severe Cyclone Fani is expected to make landfall near the pilgrim town of Puri.
- An invasive caterpillar from the Americas that devours crops is fast spreading through India, having marked its presence in 10 states within nine months since the first time it was detected.
- “Supreme Court must heed its own judgments in the CJI sexual harassment hearings It should also be fair to the judge concerned, and restore public confidence”
- The West Bengal government told the Supreme Court that the CBI’s plea for the custodial interrogation of former Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar in a ponzi scam case was a “political game”.
- At the end of the fourth phase of polling, Congress is confident of crossing the three-digit mark in the 17th Lok Sabha polls.
- Union Transport Minister and senior leader of BJP–Nitin Gadkari, criticised the Congress saying the party has always pitched ‘poverty eradication’ to citizens as a means to come into power.
- After Congress President Rahul Gandhi claimed that PM Narendra Modi-led government enacted a new law "that allows police to shoot at tribals", the Election Commission sent him a notice for allegedly violating Model Code of Conduct.
- All the four political majors in Haryana, namely the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and its splinter outfit Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) are locked in a pitched battle of prestige in the Sirsa (SC) parliamentary seat.
- A day after the conclusion of the fourth phase of the general elections, senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Majeed Memon said NCP chief Sharad Pawar has never said he is not ready to become prime minister but has only maintained he is not in the race for that position.
- National Stock Exchange (NSE) said markets regulator SEBI's recent orders don't affect its functioning as a recognised stock exchange. SEBI has fined NSE around ₹1,000 crore for alleged lapses in checking on brokers gaining unfair access through co-location servers placed at the site of exchange.
- State-owned NBCC said it has received government approval for its revised offer to acquire cash-strapped Jaypee Infratech. This comes within a week after its bid was rejected by lenders as it was subject to approval of government authorities.
- Bandhan Bank posted a jump of 68 per cent in its net profit to Rs 650.87 crore in the fourth quarter ended March, on account of healthy core income.
- More than 30% of the respondents said that information about service charges was not shared by banks at the time of a/c opening A majority of customers are upset over the service charges being levied by banks under various categories.
- World number nine Saina Nehwal crashed out of New Zealand Open after losing to world number 212 Wang Zhiyi of China. The 29-year-old lost with the scoreline of 16-21, 23-21, 4-21 to her 19-year-old opponent in one hour and seven minutes.
- CSK defeated Delhi Capitals by 80 runs at Chennai to register their biggest victory in IPL 2019 and reclaim the top spot on the points table.
- Henin, the former world No 1 from Belgium, and winner of seven Majors between 2003 and 2007, was in New Delhi as a brand ambassador for the French Open. Shuttlers HS Prannoy and Sai Praneeth won their respective men's singles matches to enter the second round of New Zealand Open.
- Lionel Messi left Liverpool needing a miracle to reach their second Champions League final in as many years as his brace helped Barcelona win a pulsating Champions League semi-final first leg 3-0.
- Canadian singer Drake, who was named 'Top Artist' at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards, set a new record by bagging 12 prizes at the award ceremony.
- After late actor-screenwriter Kader Khan was conferred with the Padma Shri, his son Sarfaraz collected the award from India's Consul General Dinesh Bhatia in Toronto, Canada. "I'm grateful to the Honourable President of India for presenting the award to my father," he said.
- Six grassroots environmental activists received the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize. Known as the Green Nobel Prize, the Goldman Prize honors environmental activists from each of the six continental regions.
- Indian shooter Apurvi Chandela attained the world number one position in women's 10m air rifle event, while her compatriot Anjum Moudgil rose to number two. Chandela is among the five Indian shooters to have secured 2020 Olympics quotas for the country.
- Arjuna awardee and star Indian golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar won the outstanding achievement as a player award at the fourth edition of the annual India Golf Industry Association (GIA) awards at the Delhi Golf Club.
- Archery Association of India (AAI) President B.V.P. Rao resigned after the Supreme Court’s ruling to set aside the constitution of the national body of the sport as amended by Delhi High Court-appointed administrator S.Y. Quraishi.
- Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara has been named as the next President of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), becoming the first non-British President of the club.
- Senior IAS officer Dilip Kumar was appointed as the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the office of Lokpal. Kumar, a 1995-batch IAS officer of Punjab cadre, is at present joint secretary, National Human Rights Commission.
- Researchers have found cocaine, other illicit drugs and banned pesticides in freshwater shrimp in UK's Suffolk. They collected samples from five catchment areas, and 15 sites across Suffolk and found cocaine in all samples tested.
- ISRO has revealed the launch window for its second Moon mission Chandrayaan-2 is from July [latex]9^{th}[/latex] to July [latex]16^{th}[/latex] with an expected Moon landing on September 6. The ₹800-crore mission has been delayed since 2016 and was last scheduled for an April launch.
- The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics’ (ICRISAT) team partnered with the BGI-Shenzhen, China, involving 39 scientists from 21 research institutes worldwide.
- Ambassador Navdeep Suri presented UAE Minister of Tolerance Sheikh Nahayan Mubarak Al Nahayan with the Coffee Table book on “Work of Beauty: Architecture and Landscape of Rashtrapati Bhawan”.
- Former chief justice of the Kerala and Madras High Courts B Subhashan Reddy died in Hyderabad following a brief illness. The 76-year-old was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Gachibowli.
- United States Sixth Circuit Judge, Damon Jerome Keith, a grandson of slaves passed away at the age of 96 in Detroit, the city where the prominent lawyer was appointed in 1967 to the US District Court. He served on the Sixth Circuit for over 40 years.
1. Imporatnt Days
- May[latex] 1^{st}[/latex] is marked as International Labour Day, also referred as May Day. The day celebrates labourers and the working class.
- Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena said a foreign mastermind may have planned the Easter bombings, claimed by Islamic State, telling the militant group to “leave my country alone”.
- A decision on whether Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar will be listed as a global terrorist by the United Nations will be known on May[latex] 1^{st}[/latex] as the world body’s Sanctions Committee holds a crucial meeting, amid indications that China could lift its hold on the proposal to blacklist Azhar.
- Taliban and the U.S. starts on May [latex]1^{st}[/latex] in Qatar, an official for the insurgents said, as the foes seek an end of America’s longest war.
- Venezuelan Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez tweeted that the government was confronting a small group of “military traitors” seeking to promote a coup
- A two-part maritime exercise by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its partnering countries is slated to start in South Korea's port city of Busan.
- The US has found no evidence of India using Afghanistan's soil against Pakistan, Alice Wells, US' top diplomat for South and Central Asian Affairs, said.
- The shooting prompted a lockdown at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and caused panic across campus as students sheltered in place.
- President Donald Trump is proposing charging asylum seekers a fee to process their applications as he continues to try to crack down on the surge of Central American migrants seeking to cross into the U.S.
- External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during the weekend and asked for a waiver for continued import of Iranian crude after the May 2 deadline imposed by the U.S. administration, a source has confirmed.
- The Maoists were in the final stages of observing a week-long protest to mark the first anniversary of 40 of their comrades who were gunned down on April [latex]22^{nd}[/latex], 2018
- Shares of Wadia Group companies Britannia, Bombay Dyeing and Bombay Burmah plummeted up to 18% on news that Ness Wadia received a two-year suspended prison term for possessing drugs in Japan in March.
- Odisha has issued a high alert in 12 districts in view of Cyclone Fani, which is likely to make landfall by Friday afternoon. The India Meteorological Department said Fani has "intensified into an extremely severe cyclonic storm."
- Naxals targeted an anti-Naxal operations team in an IED blast, killing at least 15 personnel and a driver in the devastating attack. The team of C60 Commandos was targeted by Naxals in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli, which is infamous for repeated Naxal attacks.
- The Supreme Court has sought a response from the Election Commission (EC) on Congress MP Sushmita Dev's plea alleging Model Code of Conduct violations by PM Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah.
- The Election Commission has served a notice to Samajwadi Party's Varanasi candidate Tej Bahadur Yadav to get NoC from BSF as he had been sacked.
- The Election Commission gave a clean chit to PM Narendra Modi for his April 1st speech at Maharashtra's Wardha, stating that it doesn't violate the Model Code of Conduct.
- Expelled by the Congress last week for engaging in "anti-party activities", former Congress MLA from Delhi's Ghonda Assembly constituency Bhisham Sharma joined the BJP in the presence of party's Delhi unit President Manoj Tiwari.
- Private lender Kotak Mahindra Bank reported a 25% rise in its March quarter profit at ₹1,408 crore, compared to ₹1,124 crore in the year-ago period.
- Markets regulator SEBI has directed National Stock Exchange (NSE) to pay ₹625 crore for lapses in checking on brokers gaining unfair access through co-location servers placed at the site of exchange.
- PNB MD Sunil Mehta has said the lender recovered ₹4,000 crore from sale of stressed assets between January-March. The bank expects to recover ₹3,100 crore through sale of non-core assets in the first quarter of FY20, he added.
- As Amazon.com Inc targets traditional brokerages that match shippers with truckers, it’s also battling a bevy of startups - including Uber Freight and a company funded by the e-commerce giant’s founder Jeff Bezos.
- Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) secretary MP Singh has announced that India will bid for the 32-team 2024 World Championships, adding "time has come for India" to host a high profile event.
- India’s Table Tennis player Sathiyan Gnanasekaran became the first Indian to break into the world’s top 25 of the latest International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Rankings.
- The 2019 ISSF Rifle/Pistol World Cup was held in Beijing, China from [latex]21^{st}[/latex] to [latex]29^{th}[/latex] April. This event was the annual edition of the ISSF World Cup in the Olympic Shooting events and governed by International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF).
- The IPL 2019 match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals was abandoned due to rain with 10 balls remaining after being reduced to a five-over fixture.
- England national team player and Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling has been named as the Football Writers’ Association (FWA) Footballer of the Year 2019.
- Life insurance company, MetLife has been named in Forbes’ inaugural Blockchain 50 List for its Vitana experiment, world’s first, automated insurance solution using blockchain technology was launched in August 2019 by LumenLab, MetLife’s Asia innovation center in Singapore.
- Google parent Alphabet announced that former Google CEO Eric Schmidt will not be seeking re-election to the board when his term expires on June 19. The 64-year-old has been on the company's board since 2001 and served as Google CEO until 2011 before becoming the Executive Chairman.
- Japan’s new Emperor Naruhito formally ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne, a day after his father abdicated from the world’s oldest monarchy and ushered in a new imperial era.
- Air Marshal Anil Khosla PVSM AVSM VM ADC, Vice Chief of the Air Staff retired after four-decade of career span.WhileAir Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria will take over as the Vice Chief of Indian Air Force on May [latex]^{1}[/latex].
- Air India has put on hold the appointment of senior pilot Captain Arvind Kathpalia as Regional Director (Northern Region). The appointment on Tuesday was condemned by the national carrier's pilots union.
- Spanish astronomers have reported that a meteorite collided with the Moon at 61,000 kmph, making a 10-15 metres wide crater during the January 21 lunar eclipse. A bright flash visible to the naked eye was reported by amateur astronomers as the total phase began.
- A biography of Indian nationalist, diplomat, and politician V K Krishna Menon, titled “Chequered Brilliance: The Many Lives of V K Krishna Menon” has been written by Former union minister and writer Jairam Ramesh. This book will be released in the first quarter of 2020.
- Boyz n the Hood director John Singleton, who was the first African American and the youngest-ever film-maker to be nominated for the best director Oscar, passed away at the age of 51 after suffering from hypertension.