VINTAGE

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MAY 14^th, 2019

              IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MAY 14^th, 2019

1.      Admiral John Michael Richardson (Chief of Naval Operations, US Navy), is on an official tour to India.

a.       Aim of this Visit : To consolidate bilateral naval relations between India and USA and also to explore new avenues for naval cooperation.

b.       During this visit, he had discussions with Admiral Sunil Lanba (Chairman COSC and Chief of the Naval Staff). 

c.       He also interacted with Defence Secretary, Vice Chief of the Army Staff, Chief of the Air Staff, Chief of the Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman COSC and the National Security Council Secretariat.

2.      China is going to host a Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations in Beijing, starting from 15 May to 22 May 2019. 

a.       During the event an opening ceremony will be held by Chinese President Xi Jinpingand 6 parallel sub forums will be conducted.

b.       Theme : "Promoting mutual learning and exchanges among Asian civilizations through Film and TV" 

3.      The ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM)-Plus Maritime Security Field Training Exercise (MS FTX) in the South China Sea concluded yesterday at RSS Singapura ( also known as Changi Naval Base) in Singapore.

a.       The exercise commenced on 30 April in Busan, South Korea and concluded in Singapore.

b.       This is the 4th Maritime Security Field Training Exercise (MS FTX) was conducted under the ambit of the ADMM-Plus. 

c.       It involved 10 aircraft and 19 ships with about 700 personnel from the 18 ADMM-Plus countries.

4.      India today extended the ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for 5 more years, declaring it an "unlawful association". 

a.       The Ministry of Home Affairs in its notification said that the group's objective for a separate homeland for Tamils threatens the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India . 

b.       Note : LTTE was formed by V Prabhakaran in 1976.

5.      Government is planning to make QR code payments option via UPI compulsory at all shops.

a.       The GST Council has already given the proposal a go-ahead.

b.       The move will provide GST benefit to both shopkeepers and consumers. 

c.       The government is said to have roped in NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India) for a nationwide rollout of the plan.

6.      China today announced it will impose additional tariffs on $60 billion of American goods in retaliation to the increase of US duties on $200 billion of Chinese imports. 

a.       The country will impose tariffs on a total of 5,140 US products from June 1. 

b.       China earlier said it "will never surrender to external pressure" in trade war with the US.

7.      Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport is ranked 8th among Top 10 airports for on-time performance, service quality, and food and shopping options, by AirHelp, an organisation specialising in air traveller rights. 

a.       Top 3 in the List :

i)       Hamad International Airport (Qatar)

ii)     International Airport (Tokyo)

iii)   International Airport (Athens)

b)     Note : Portugal's Lisbon Portela Airport was ranked worst.

8.      Liverpool's Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang shared the Premier League Golden Boot award after they all ended up with 22 goals.

9.      ISRO Chairman Dr K. Sivan inaugurated ISRO’s Young Scientist Programme called ‘Yuvika 2019’ at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

a.       A total 107 students would be fortunate to get trained by ISRO Scientists as part of YUVIKA 2019.

b.       The course material has already been pre-loaded on Tablets, which the students will be provided with during the programme.

10. LIC Mutual Fund today appointed Dinesh Pangtey as the company's Chief Executive Officer (CEO). 

11. The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the appointment of Justice DN Patel as the next Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court. 

12. ITC Managing Director Sanjiv Puri was appointed as Chairman after the demise of Yogesh Chander Deveshwar on Saturday. 

13. Former India cricketer GS Lakshmi became the 1st female match referee to be inducted into the International Cricket Council (ICC)'s International Panel of Match Referees. 

14. The World number one Novak Djokovic (Serbia) won men’s singles title of Madrid Open by defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece).

a.       Kiki Bertens (Netherlands) won the Women's Singles title by defeating Simona Halep (Romania).

15. 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 20-24. 

a.       Mary Kom had opted out of the Asian Championships last month in order to prepare for the World Championships.

16. Former Arsenal and Manchester United forward Robin van Persie was given a guard of honour and a standing ovation in his final professional career appearance in Feyenoord's last home league match of the season. 

a.       The 35-year-old managed to hit the woodwork in the first half and was substituted off in stoppage time. Feyenoord is Persie's childhood club.

17. Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma became the most successful player in IPL history after winning his 5th title. 

a.       Rohit won his first IPL title with Deccan Chargers in 2009, and led MI to four IPL titles in 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019. 

b.       The 32-year-old is followed by Ambati Rayudu and Harbhajan Singh, who have won four titles each.