IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MAY 24th, 2017

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MAY 24th, 2017

1)Taiwan's constitutional court on Wednesday ruled in favour to recognise same-sex marriage on the island.

a)    Important Note : This is the first such ruling in Asia

2)    The tiny island of Nauru (world’s smallest republic) has become the 6th country to ratify the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Framework pact. 

a)    Important Points to Note :5 more nations namely theComoros, Cote d’Ivoire, Somalia, Ghana and Djiboutihave committed to ink the International Solar Alliance Framework Pact in the ongoing annual meeting of the African Development bank in Gandhinagar, India. 

3)India's first underwater tunnel, which was built under the Hooghly river for establishing a metro link in Kolkata, has been completed before the deadline.

a) A giant tunnel-boring machine was deployed to dig the underwater tunnel that runs a length of 502 metres under the river. 

4)The Uttarakhand government is going to promote sites with a reputation for being haunted, as part of its ghost tourism project.

5)Cabinet approves setting up of new AIIMS in Kamrup, Assam under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana.

6)    IIT Kharagpur’s Rekhi Centre of Excellence for the Science of Happiness and Madhya Pradesh government’s ‘Rajya Anandam Sansthan’ (Department of Happiness) has signed an MoU to collaborate on the development of a Happiness Index for measuring the well-being of the residents of the state. 

a)    The MoU was signed in the presence of MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and IIT-KGP Director Prof P P Chakrabarti at Bhopal.

7)    Moody's Investors Service On 23rd may downgraded China's credit ratings for the first time since 1989, saying it expects the economy's financial strength to erode in coming years as growth slows and debt rises. 

   a.     Moody’s reduced the rating to A1 from Aa3, while also changing the outlook to stable from negative.

8)    Former Ethiopian Health Minister Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has been elected as the new Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

9)    The Dubai police have officially inducted the world's first operational robot police officer into the force. 

    a.     The 'robocop' is over 5 feet tall, weighs 100 kg and has a facial recognition software with which it can identify offenders. 

    b.     The robot is capable of speaking six languages and people can use its built-in tablet device to access various police services.

10)  Airlander 10, the largest aircraft in the world, has successfully completed its test flight in the UK. 

   a.     Dubbed the 'flying bum' over its appearance, the 92-metre-long helium-filled airship can fly at altitudes of 6,100 metres. 

11)  Sir Roger Moore (89), known for portraying fictional British spy James Bond in films, passed away.

   a.     He starred as Bond in seven films released between 1973 and 1985, includingOctopussy and The Man with the Golden Gun.

12)  India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has won the International Cricketer of the Year award at CEAT Cricket Rating (CCR) International awards 2017.

13)  Union Minister Kiren Rijiju  has released a philosophical novel for God titled “Confessions of a dying mind: the blind faith of atheism“. 

     a.     The book was written by IAS officer Haulianlal Guite.

    b.     This book is touted as “the world’s first philosophical novel for God“. 

14)  India's Nitin Tomar became the costliest player in Pro Kabaddi League history, being bought for ₹93 lakh by the new GMR-owned UP franchise. 

    a.     Nitin, who had a base price of ₹20 lakh, was in India's 2016 World Cup-winning squad, being India's second-highest scorer in the final. 

    b.     Note : He has been part of Bengal Warriors and Puneri Paltan in previous PKL seasons.