VINTAGE

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MAY 19^th, 2019

              IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MAY 19^th, 2019

1.      External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will be representing India in the meeting of Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM), of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to be held in Bishkek in Kyrgyz beginning tomorrow.

a.       The CFM meeting will review the preparations for the forthcoming SCO Summit in Bishkek in 13-14 June and also exchange views on topical issues of international and regional importance. 

b.       Note : This will be the 2nd CFM meeting that India will be attending as a full member of SCO.

2.      The Navies of India and Singapore are participating in the annual maritime bilateral exercise SIMBEX in the South China Sea.

a.       Various maritime combat exercises such as firing on aerial or surface targets, advanced aerial tracking, coordinated targeting exercises and tactical exercises on the surface or air scenarios is being conducted during the exercise.

b.       Naval ships INS Kolkata and INS Shakti taking part in the bilateral naval exercise, along with long-range maritime patrol aircraft Poseidon-8I. 

c.       The Singapore side is being represented by RSN ships Steadfast and Valiant, maritime patrol aircraft Fokker-50  and F-16 fighter aircraft.

3.      Spanish Navy ship 'Mendez Nunez' (Frigate) with a crew of 30 officers and 135 sailors is on Mumbai visit from May 18 to 23. 

a.       The ship is on Overseas Deployment and is docked at the Mumbai Port Trust.

b.       The Commanding Officer of 'Mendez Nunez' will interact with Rear Admiral Rajesh Pendharkar, Flag Officer Commanding, Maharashtra Naval Area, during its stay.

c.       The visit would further strengthen the existing bonds between the two navies.

4.      On 21st May, the UAE will celebrate World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development to highlight its efforts in promoting tolerance and cultural diversity.

a.       The event will coincide with the country’s declaration of 2019 as the Year for Tolerance and its hosting of many related events. .

5.      Sri Lanka marks the completion of 10 years of victory against the separatist war waged by LTTE with the beginning of a 4-day ceremony.

a.       Army Commander Lt. Gen. Mahesh Senanayake said a series of ceremonies will be held under the theme ‘Dasawarshabhishekaya’ or ‘Decade of Peace’ to commemorate the soldiers who laid down their lives during the three-decade long war.

b.       The main ‘National War Heroes Day’ event presided by President Maithripala Sirisena will be held today and will see the participation of the families of the fallen and missing from the tri-forces and the police.

c.       As per an estimate, more than 40 thousand people were killed in the war while thousands more disabled and displaced.

6.      The Netherlands and Russia have settled a long-running dispute over the seizure of Greenpeace's Arctic Sunrise ship during an oil drilling protest in 2013, with Moscow expected to pay 2.7 million euros in compensation.

a.       The settlement was reached in Hague yesterday after talks between Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok and Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

b.       Earlier the Dutch had dragged Moscow to various courts following the incident.

c.       Russian commandos seized the Dutch-flagged ship in September 2013 and detained 30 Greenpeace activists and journalists on board after a protest at an offshore oil rig owned by Russian state oil giant Gazprom.

7.      Voting for the 7th and final phase of 17th Lok Sabha elections has begun. 

a.       The phase covers 59 constituencies across Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Chandigarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, MP, UP and West Bengal. Around 1.12 lakh polling booths are in place for smooth conduct of polls, while 10.02 crore registered voters will decide the fate of 918 candidates including PM Narendra Modi.

8.      UN Environment India and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau of India launched an awareness campaign ‘Not all animals migrate by choice’ to be displayed at major airports across the country ahead of the International Day of Biological Diversitycelebrated on 22nd of this month.

a.       This campaign is an important step forward in creating much-needed awareness on wildlife trafficking which threatens the very survival of these species.

9.      The government plans to introduce Artificial intelligence system in the MCA 21 portal as it seeks to make the compliance process easier as well as ensure routine enforcement activities are done round-the-clock on autopilot basis.

a.       MCA 21 is the electronic backbone for the dissemination of information to all stakeholders, including the regulator, corporates and investors. 

b.       All filings under the companies law are submitted to the ministry through this portal.

10. Mumbai topped the 15-city list of the most vulnerable cities to cyberattacks in 2019, followed by Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata, Quick Heal Security Labs revealed. 

a.       The 'Annual Threat Report 2019' put Maharashtra, Delhi and West Bengal as the top three states at most risk. 

11. State-owned Bank of Baroda (BoB) is planning to rationalise 800-900 branches across the country, following its merger with Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank. 

a.       Certain branches of the three banks are at one location and this duplication is a drain on efficiency, a senior official said. 

b.       The lender could opt for relocation and in some cases, closure, the official added.

12. Kerala Becomes 1st Indian State to tap into Masala Bond Market by listing the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB)’s masala bond worth of USD 312 million (Rs 2,150 crore) in London Stock Exchange (LSE)’s International Securities Market (ISM).

a.       It has a fixed interest rate of 9.723% per annum. 

b.       The bond issue builds on the Kerala government’s focus to get multinational corporations to invest in the state.

13. The United States has announced that it had approved more than $600 million in sales of Air Defense Missiles to South Korea and Japan as tensions return with North Korea.

a.       The State Department said it had approved 94 SM-2 missiles used by ships against air threats, along with 12 guidance systems for a total cost of $313.9 million.

b.       It separately gave the green light to sell 160 anti-air AMRAAM missiles and related guidance equipment to Japan for $317 million. 

14. India has delivered the 1st pair of Mi-24 attack helicopters as replacement to the Afghan Air Force to help bolster the war-torn country's capability in counter insurgency and fight against terrorism.

a.       Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan Vinay Kumar handed over the helicopters to Acting Defence Minister Asadullah Khalid at the Kabul Air Force base.

15. Dr PK Mishra, Additional Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, has been conferred the 2019 UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. 

16. US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is being honored with the 2019 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award.

a.       Pelosi is being recognized for her efforts to pass former President Barack Obama’s 2010 health care law and for helping Democrats reclaim control of the U.S. House during last year’s elections.

17. Volodymyr Zelenskiy today took oath as Ukraine's new President, announcing snap parliamentary elections at the same ceremony.

a.       Zelenskiy, in his first address as President, pledged to protect the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.

b.       Note : With this, Zelinskiy became Ukraine's youngest post-Soviet President after he scored a landslide election victory against incumbent Petro Poroshenko.

18. In Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison's Liberal-National Coalition won the federal elections.

a.       Prime Minister Morrison has declared victory after his coalition defied opinion polls and secured a surprise win over the opposition Labor Party.

19. World number two Rafael Nadal defeated world number one Novak Djokovic to clinch the Italian Open for the 9th time. 

a.       Nadal also broke a tie with Djokovic by claiming a record 34th ATP Masters 1000 title. 

b.       Czech tennis player Karolina Pliskova won the Women's singles title by beating Johanna Konta.

c.       Complete Winners List of Italian Open 2019

i)       Men's Singles : Rafael Nadal (Spain)

ii)     Women's Singles : Karolína Plíšková (Czech Republic)

iii)   Men's Doubles : Juan Sebastián Cabal (Colombia) / Robert Farah (Colombia)

iv)   Women's Doubles : Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) / Ashleigh Barty (Australia) 

20. The 2nd India Open International Boxing tournament has begun in Guwahati this evening. 

a.       Assam Education Minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya  inaugurated the 5-day long tournament. 

b.       7 Indian boxers are playing in the preliminary round.

c.       10 Indian boxers are already assured of medals with 6 in men and 4 in women being already placed in the semi-finals.

21. The world body governing Badminton, BFA, has launched 2 new formats of the game - AirBadminton and Triples with new dimensions of the court and an innovative shuttlecock called Airshuttle. 

a.       In the new formats launched globally at Guangzhou last week, AirBadmintion will be outdoor sports. 

b.       In Triples format, the match will be played between a team of three players each with presence of at least one female. 

c.       India's top shuttlers have endorsed AirBadminton. Saina Nehwal, Parupalli Kashyap and H.S. Prannoy said it has the potential to provide an alternate career to retired professionals.